I have developped a real-time recognition
system that can automatically reinforce vocalizations of birds. Before this
syetem, experimenters needed to listen to the vocalization of birds to reinforce
vocalizations. The system makes it possible to reinforce vocalization of birds
objectively and immediately. My system can be used for various types of
researche including an interaction between vocalization and hearing. The system
has been used at Meisei University, Duke
University, University of Maryland at College Park and Nihon
University.
(Picture: A system of Meisei University in 1992)
A short report in News Letter of APA, "Monitor"
The following experiments used the system and
studied vocal "naming", vocal learning and interactions between
vocalization and hearing.
Manabe, K., Kawashima, T.
and Staddon J.E.R. (1995) Differential Vocalizations in Budgerigars: Toward an
Experimental Analysis of Naming. Journal of the
Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Vol.63, pp.111-126.
Movie of Experiment (You can see a budgerigar responding to red with a high-pitch call, to green with a low-pitch call.)
Related Articles
Sidman,
M. (1995) Functional classes and equivalence via three-term contingencies. In M.
Sidman (Ed.), Equivalence relations and behavior: A
research story (pp. 463-474). Boston, MA: Authors
Cooperative, Inc.
Saunders, K. J. and Williams, D. C. (1998) Do parakeets exhibit derived stimulus control? Some thoughts on experimental control procedures. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Vol.70, pp.321-324. Abstracts
Sidman, M. (2000) Equivalence relations and the reinforcement contingency. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Vol.74, pp.127-146. PDF file Abstracts
(Picture: Dr.
Sidman and Mrs. Sidman were inquiring me about our experiments in '93 ABA
conference in Chicago.)
Dooling,R.J., Brown, S.D., Manabe,K., and Powell,E.F.(1996) The perceptual foundations of vocal learning in
budgerigars. In Moss, C.F. and Shettleworth, S. (Eds.) Neuroethological Studies of Cognitive and Perceptual Processes, pp.
104-128.
(Picture: A system ofUniversity of Maryland at College Park for
hearing experiments)
Manabe, K., Staddon J.E.R. and Cleaveland J.M.
(1997) Control of Vocal Repertoire by Reward in Budgerigars. Journal of Comparative Psychology, Vol.111, pp. 50-62.
This paper descrive a method of differentiation of vocal responses using N-back procedure. In the N-back procedure, only vocalization other than N-different vocalizations that had been reinfored was reinforced. Budgerigars became to produce N + 1 vocalizations.
(Picture: A Skinner box of Duke University for budgerigars. A LCD monitor
is in the front for presentation of visual stimuli.)
Manabe, K. and Dooling R.J. (1997) Control of
Vocal Production in Budgerigars (Melopsittacus
undulatus). Selective Reinforcement, Call Differentiation, and Stimulus
Control. Behavioural Processes, Vol.41, pp.117-132.
(Picture: A Skinner box of University of Maryland at
College Park for budgerigars. There are four LEDs instead of a LCD monitor in
Duke type.)
Manabe, K. (1997) Vocal Plasticity in
Budgerigars: Various Modifications of Vocalization by Operant Conditioning. Biomedical Research, Vol. 18, Supplement 1, pp.125-132.
This paper described several methods of operant conditioning of vocal response, shaping, differentiation vocalization and selective reinforcement of vocalization.
(Picture: A real-time recognition system of University of
Maryland at College.)
Dooling, R. J., Ryals, B. M. and Manabe, K.
(1997) Recovery of Hearing and Vocal Behavior after Hair Cell Regeneration.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA,
Vol.
94, pp.14206-14210.
(Picture: The basal
(high-frequency) half of the papillae of budgerigars sacrificed after 8 days of
injection with kanamycin (0-day survival),
14-day survival, and 28-day survival.)
Manabe, K., Sadr E. I. and
Dooling R. J. (1998) Control of Vocal Intensity in Budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus): Differential Reinforcement of Vocal
Intensity and the Lombard Effect. The Journal of the
Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 103, pp.1190-1198.
It was found that budgerigars can control vocal intensity in a voluntary way. In addition, budgerigars showed the Lombard effect, increases in vocal intensity under noisy environments like humans.
(Picture: A micro FM-transmitter for budgerigars. The transmitter had a
microphon, circuit, a buttery and an antena. The weight was about 1 g and the
size was 3 mm X 8 mm X 10 mm. The transmitter with a microphone was atatched on
the budgerigars' head to fix a distance between the microphone and
mouth.)