Auditory Cortex Plasticity Supports Social Learning

Explore the fascinating world of auditory social learning in a 34-minute lecture by Dan Sanes from the Center for Neural Science at New York University. Delve into a study on gerbils that reveals how exposure to conspecifics performing auditory tasks accelerates skill acquisition in naïve observers. Discover the behavioral characteristics and neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, with a focus on the pivotal role of the auditory cortex. Learn about the experimental paradigm involving Demonstrator and Observer gerbils, and examine evidence suggesting the necessity of the auditory cortex for social facilitation. Gain insights into how individual neurons exhibit improved stimulus discrimination during social exposure, contributing to our understanding of lower-level intelligence from AI, psychology, and neuroscience perspectives.