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Yes, Jennie FoxP2 is apparently involved in learning (listening must be a
component but the significant one?) as well as vocalization as this post
explains. The KE family in London whose disability lead to the discovery of
FoxP2 has been described as having hearing difficulties but I am not sure
that was related to FoxP2 Anyone know?

The increased plasticity does not explain in depth what is going on.
Increased interneuronal connects can be important in any, and perhaps, all
the steps in the process of imitating (learning) and vocalization. But here
must be other factors involved. It is hard to understand that 2 amino acid
differences between human and chimpanzee FoxP2 can account for the
differences in our and chimpanzee's vocal abilities.

Martin

Without *FOXP2*, songbirds are much less able to learn songs from their
tutors.

Songbirds are among the greatest vocal talents on the planet. The beauty of
their singing is matched only by its complexity, which shares some
similarities with human speech in its internal structure. As Professor
Constance Scharff and colleagues in Berlin have discovered, it shows a
further notable similarity – a dependence on the *FOXP2*gene.

Songbirds’ singing is both an innate and learned skill. Birds raised in
isolation develop rudimentary songs typical of their species but only
generate a full repertoire when exposed to the songs of adults as they grow.

In zebra finches, an animal often used in studies of bird song, young birds
learn by listening to and mimicking the sounds of adult ‘tutors’ when they
are young (generally fathers passing on songs to their sons).

Mutations in *FOXP2* affect the ability of people to make the complex and
subtle facial muscle articulations needed to generate speech [link]. To
assess its possible role in song production in zebra finches, Professor
Scharff used new techniques to reduce (or ‘knockdown’) levels of *FOXP2* in
areas of the brain known to be involved in song learning and in which the *
FOXP2* gene is active.

he treated birds showed some striking abnormalities. They were much less
able to learn songs from their tutor, and their mimicking skills were
dramatically reduced. The individual sounds the birds produced were much
more variable, in length and internal structure – a feature strikingly
similar to the speech defects of children with*FOXP2* mutations.

The results suggest that, in birds as well as humans,*FOXP2* is an essential
part of the brain systems that enable individuals to absorb and learn
vocalisations, and then to generate specific sounds accurately. Research on
birds may therefore yield more insight into the brain processes that
underlie human language and communication.

ReferencesHaesler S et al. Incomplete and inaccurate vocal imitation after
knockdown of FoxP2 in songbird basal ganglia nucleus Area X. PLoS Biol. 2007
Dec;5(12):e321. PMID: 18052609

On Sat, Aug 20, 2011 at 12:12 PM, Jennie Dusheck <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
> ****************************************************************
> *****************
>
> It's all ever so cool. I somehow missed this.
>
> But thinking about the idea that this gene function is convergent, I'm
> wondering if FoxP2 is more involved in listening well (for learning) than in
> vocalization per se? (Wikipedia says it "modulates neuroplasticity".)
>
> I ask this because lots of animals in both lineages (birds/"reptiles" and
> mammals) have to learn to recognize sounds even if they don't vocalize very
> interestingly. Then the phenomenon doesn't have to be quite so stunningly
> convergent.  Do people know?
>
> I am probably being unclear, not having finished my coffee yet.
> Jennie Dusheck
>
>
>
>
> --
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Martin Weiss, PhD
New York Hall of Science
mweiss at nyscience.org
cell   347-460-1858
desk 718 595 9156

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