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Updated: May 5, 2026

Selective Tracing of Auditory Fibers in the Avian Embryonic Vestibulocochlear Nerve
Published on: March 18, 2013
Instructed learning in the auditory localization pathway of the barn owl
1Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94305, USA. eknudsen@stanford.edu
Abstract:
A bird sings and you turn to look at it a process so automatic it seems simple. But is it? Our ability to localize the source of a sound relies on complex neural computations that translate auditory localization cues into representations of space. In barn owls, the visual system is important in teaching the auditory system how to translate cues. This example of instructed plasticity is highly quantifiable and demonstrates mechanisms and principles of learning that may be used widely throughout the central nervous system.
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