Seminars & Events

Computations In Science Seminar
"Quantitative Modeling of Birdsong Learning and Vocalization: Physicists'Models and Realistic Networks"

DATE: September 19, 2007
TIME: 12:30 p.m.
SPEAKER: Henry D. I. Abarbanel
LOCATION: KPTC 206, University of Chicago

Description:
Adult songbirds transmit specific songs to juveniles who then train their own song production systems to mimic the adult song. The neural and auditory bases for this cultural behavior are known in broad, qualitative outline to be associated with identified collections of neurons in the male songbird brain and the bird's auditory apparatus. The overall song learning, training, and production system is
straightforward enough that one can expect to develop a quantitative set of models with increasing complexity and resolution. These would allow the prediction of new phenomena in the song system as well as provide an integrated view of existing observations.

We will outline some of the established aspects of the songbird nervous/auditory system and describe our efforts to develop a "coarse grained" computational description of its function. We will also describe ingredients missing at present with an optimistic eye toward how we need to proceed to their incorporation. To proceed from a coarse grained account we will need both additional anatomical and electrophysiological information as well as computational development of models.

A suggestion for developing and verifying the needed models will be outlined. The method is applicable to networks in many arenas of physics and biological physics. It is computationally demanding.

A role for physicists in providing quantitative computational models of this functional nervous system and others, perhaps more complex, will be discussed.

More Information:
Discussion over bag-lunch at 12:15 p.m.
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