Jarvis has a theory. In one recent imaging study conducted by his lab, he noticed that when birds hop, genes become active in seven brain areas that directly surround the seven song-learning regions of the brain. The brain areas involved in singing and learning to sing seem to be embedded in brain areas controlling movement. This suggests to Jarvis an intriguing notion, what he calls “a motor theory for the origin of vocal learning”: Brain pathways used for vocal learning may have evolved out of those used for motor control.
Sequential activity, FOXP2
