Tools Development and Open Source Neuroscience
Author: Roberto Andrés Bistel Esquivel | Email: robertobistel@gmail.com
Roberto Andrés Bistel Esquivel 1°2°, Ana Amador 1°2°, Gabriel B. Mindlin 1°2°
1° Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Física, Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina
2° CONICET – Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Física Interdisciplinaria y Aplicada (INFINA), Ciudad Universitaria, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Bird songs are a stellar model in Neuroethology and Neuroscience since they allow us to study, among other things, the process of learning a song by juveniles. In this work, we generate synthetic songs using a mathematical dynamical system derived from an avian production model. Then, we continuously played these synthetic songs through an autonomous and robust ad-hoc electronic system designed to record and play audio files. In this way, we build an artificial vocal tutor for wild juveniles. We use this vocal tutor in the reintroduction of an extinct song into a population of wild juveniles of Rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis). The success of our strategy allows us to study if the synthetic song is preserved and passed to subsequent generations.