Songbirds have the rare ability of auditory-vocal learning and maintenance. Up to now, the organization and function of the nucleus magnocellularis (NM), the first relay of the avian ascending auditory pathway is largely based on studies in non-vocal learning species, such as chickens and owls. To investigate whether NM exhibits different histochemical properties associated with auditory proces...

• Irregular rhythms are identified by accumulating timing information. Accumulation of information occurs without leak. A detection model fails to account for the behavioral results. The accuracy auditory pulses excels visual or tactile stimuli. Perceiving temporal regularity in a sequence repetitive sensory events facilitates preparation and execution relevant behaviors with tight constraints....

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is an inherited form of intellectual disability and autism. Among other symptoms, FXS patients demonstrate abnormalities in sensory processing and communication. Clinical, behavioral, and electrophysiological studies consistently show auditory hypersensitivity in humans with FXS. Consistent with observations in humans, the Fmr1 KO mouse model of FXS also shows evidence ...

This paper presents an overview of the COVE model, a computational model of learning that integrates models from Cognitive science, the OCEAN model of psychology, OCC model of emotions, Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic perception and the Environment (social and physical expectations). The model enables software agents in an example application – simSchool to possess some of the emotional, psychologi...

A novel integrative learning architecture based on a reinforcement learning schemata model (RLSM) with a spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) network is described. This architecture models operant conditioning with discriminative stimuli in an autonomous agent engaged in multiple reinforcement learning tasks. The architecture consists of two constitutional learning architectures: RLSM and S...

To function in human-inhabited environments a robot must be able to press buttons. There are literally thousands of different buttons, which produce various types of feedback when pressed. This work focuses on doorbell buttons, which provide auditory feedback. Our robot learned to predict if a specific pushing movement would press a doorbell button and produce a sound. The robot explored differ...

Cognitive Hearing Science or Auditory Cognitive Science is an emerging field of interdisciplinary research concerning the interactions between hearing and cognition. It follows a trend over the last half century for interdisciplinary fields to develop, beginning with Neuroscience, then Cognitive Science, then Cognitive Neuroscience, and then Cognitive Vision Science. A common theme is that an i...

Neural responses to sensory stimuli often differ between sexes, vary seasonally, and can be regulated by endocrine activity, but the ecological and physiological mechanisms driving such patterns are not well understood. The current study examined how auditory function in the round goby (Neogobius melanostomus), a vocal teleost, co-varied with sex, reproductive condition and female plasma 17β-es...

Neuroanatomical models hypothesize a role for the dorsal auditory pathway in phonological processing as a feedforward efferent system (Davis and Johnsrude, 2007; Rauschecker and Scott, 2009; Hickok et al., 2011). But the functional organization of the pathway, in terms of time course of interactions between auditory, somatosensory, and motor regions, and the hemispheric lateralization pattern i...

Recently, findings on a wide range of auditory abnormalities among individuals with autism have been reported. To date, functional distinctions among these varied findings are poorly established. Such distinctions should be of interest to clinicians and researchers alike given their potential therapeutic and experimental applications. This review suggests three general trends among these findin...