ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2021
Vocal production learning in mammals revisited.
Review in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed.
- Acoustic analysis in relation to kinship and familiarity for contact calls of adult female golden snub-nosed monkeys living in a multilevel society.Current zoology · 2026Article
- Review
- Recent social experience alters song behavior in Drosophila.Current biology : CB · 2026Article
- Geographic and genetic factors shape acoustic divergence and dialect-like variation in communication calls in the greater horseshoe bats.Zoological research · 2026Article
- Assessing the Role of Vocal Plasticity in Sociospatial Coordination.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Review
- Unifying the gestural and the vocal in the evolution of culture, the arts, and the brain.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Dialect Formation in Ghost Bats: Genetic, Geographic and Morphological Drivers of Social and Echolocation Call Divergence.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Name use by companion parrots.PloS one · 2026Article
- What imitating an iconic robot reveals on allospecific vocal imitation in parrots and starlings.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Vocal convergence during formation of social relationships in vampire bats.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2025Article
- Vocal mimicry in Corvids.Animal cognition · 2025Review
- A harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) shows extensive respiratory control in sound production.BMC ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Altricial brains and the evolution of infant vocal learning.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- The role of musical pitch in long-distance defensive signaling.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Review
- The evolution of infant-directed communication: Comparing vocal input across all great apes.Science advances · 2025Article
- Maternal behavior influences vocal practice and learning processes in the greater sac-winged bat.eLife · 2025Article
- Sensorimotor synchronization to rhythm in an experienced sea lion rivals that of humans.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Social and individual factors mediate chimpanzee vocal ontogeny.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Lateralized cerebellar connectivity differentiates auditory pathways in echolocating and non-echolocating whales.PloS one · 2025Article
- Rhythmic Roots: The Adaptive Functions of Vocal Isochrony and Its Role in Human Music and Language Evolution.Psihologijske teme = Psychological themes = Psychological topics · 2025Article
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2 authors.
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Abstract
Vocal production learning, the ability to modify the structure of vocalizations as a result of hearing those of others, has been studied extensively in birds but less attention has been given to its occurrence in mammals. We summarize the available evidence for vocal learning in mammals from the last 25 years, updating earlier reviews on the subject. The clearest evidence comes from cetaceans, pinnipeds, elephants and bats where species have been found to copy artificial or human language sounds, or match acoustic models of different sound types. Vocal convergence, in which parameter adjustments within one sound type result in similarities between individuals, occurs in a wider range of mammalian orders with additional evidence from primates, mole-rats, goats and mice. Currently, the underlying mechanisms for convergence are unclear with vocal production learning but also usage learning or matching physiological states being possible explanations. For experimental studies, we highlight the importance of quantitative comparisons of seemingly learned sounds with vocal repertoires before learning started or with species repertoires to confirm novelty. Further studies on the mammalian orders presented here as well as others are needed to explore learning skills and limitations in greater detail. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vocal learning in animals and humans'.
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