The study “Birdsong fails to support object categorization in human infants” was published in PLOS ONE on March 11, 2021, in a collaboration between scientists in the departments of psychology at Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and communication sciences and disorders at the School of Communication. The study tested whether the birdsong of a zebra finch would facilitate core cognitive processes in human infants.
“This new evidence brings us closer to identifying which vocalizations initially support infant cognition,” said Professor Sandra Waxman.
“We now know that infants’ earliest link, which is sufficiently broad to include non-human primate calls, does not include zebra finch song. This will shed light on the ontogenetic and phylogenetic antecedents to human language acquisition and its quintessential link to cognition.”
Professor Sandra Waxman
Professor Sandra Waxman discusses this research in the Northwestern Now story: “New study identifies a limit on the range of vocalizations that support infant cognition.”