Universal mechanisms of sound production and control in birds and mammals

Elemans C.P.h (), J.H. Rasmussen, C.T. Herbst, D.N. Düring, S.A. Zollinger, H. Brumm, K. Srivastava, N. Svane, M. Ding, O.N. Larsen, S.J. Sober and J.G. Švec
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Elemans C.P.h: University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
J.H. Rasmussen: University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
C.T. Herbst: Faculty of Science, Voice Research Lab, Palacky University
D.N. Düring: University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
S.A. Zollinger: Communication and Social Behaviour Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology
H. Brumm: Communication and Social Behaviour Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology
K. Srivastava: Emory University
N. Svane: University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
M. Ding: Odense University Hospital, University of Southern Denmark
O.N. Larsen: University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense, Denmark
S.J. Sober: Emory University
J.G. Švec: Faculty of Science, Voice Research Lab, Palacky University

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract As animals vocalize, their vocal organ transforms motor commands into vocalizations for social communication. In birds, the physical mechanisms by which vocalizations are produced and controlled remain unresolved because of the extreme difficulty in obtaining in vivo measurements. Here, we introduce an ex vivo preparation of the avian vocal organ that allows simultaneous high-speed imaging, muscle stimulation and kinematic and acoustic analyses to reveal the mechanisms of vocal production in birds across a wide range of taxa. Remarkably, we show that all species tested employ the myoelastic-aerodynamic (MEAD) mechanism, the same mechanism used to produce human speech. Furthermore, we show substantial redundancy in the control of key vocal parameters ex vivo, suggesting that in vivo vocalizations may also not be specified by unique motor commands. We propose that such motor redundancy can aid vocal learning and is common to MEAD sound production across birds and mammals, including humans.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9978

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