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When scientists study how birds hear, they learn about usPeople have known for a long time why wild birds sing. Robert Dooling, a professor at the University of Maryland, has been studying how birds hear and learn their songs. Why bother to learn about birds' hearing and singing? For one thing, it's always interesting to find out new facts about animals. In addition, Dooling says that studying birds is helping scientists learn more about how humans hear and learn to talk. Birds' tiny brains aren't as complicated to study as the human brain is, and their ways of communicating are much simpler. But the way that many birds learn songs is similar to how people learn to talk. That's part of the reason they're such good animals to study. Think about how an infant learns to speak. At first, he or she makes noises that aren't really words. Many birds go through a similar babbling stage. And birds' brains are wired to learn songs from birds just like themselves, while ignoring the sounds of other types of birds. In the same way, babies learn to talk from other people instead of copying, say, a vacuum cleaner or other sounds they hear. So, birds are good animals to study. But how does a scientist begin to understand how a bird's brain works? The students and other scientists in Dooling's lab have to invent clever ways to find out. In some experiments, the birds listen to sounds with little earphones while the scientists carefully note their behavior. In other tests, the birds learn to peck at tiny lighted buttons when they hear certain sounds. If they peck the correct light, they are rewarded with a little food, and the scientists learn a bit more. The biggest surprise for Dooling came while studying birds that had lost their hearing. He and other scientists were amazed to discover that these birds usually regained their hearing in about a month. Dooling hopes this information will someday help humans with hearing loss. "It takes a lot of patience and gentle care to learn things from birds," he says. "But it's so much fun when we discover something new." And there is much still to learn. Dooling says he can hardly wait to see what the next students in his lab discover. Source: By Claire Miller, www.washingpost.com Date: 8/21/06
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