Brain response to birdsongs in bird experts

Auditory expertise has mostly been studied in relation to musical processing, but expert auditory processing can also involve nonmusical auditory stimuli, such as birdsongs in bird experts. In this study, the neural correlates of bird expertise were investigated by using electroencephalography to measure auditory-evoked potentials in bird experts and novices. Auditory stimuli in three categories (birdsongs, environmental sounds and voices) were presented in a pseudo-random order while participants performed a simple target detection task (pure tone). We observed similar amplitudes and distributions of the N100-component in bird experts and novices. In contrast, the amplitude of the P200 component was significantly smaller in bird experts at the Pz and Cz electrodes, reflecting a more frontal topography of this positivity. Notably, this group difference was observed not only for birdsongs, but also for voices and environmental sounds, suggesting a general processing difference in bird experts, not restricted to the category of expertise.