Sensory cortex plasticity supports auditory social learning

We test the idea that the auditory cortex integrates both social and task-specific auditory cues during exposure to a performing demonstrator, thereby auditory cortex activity is necessary for social learning to occur, and its plasticity is sufficient to facilitate task acquisition.

本研究验证了下述假说：当接触进行演示的示范者（performing demonstrator）时，听觉皮层（auditory cortex）会同时整合社交相关与任务特异性听觉线索（task-specific auditory cues）；据此可知，听觉皮层活动是社会学习（social learning）发生的必要条件，而其神经可塑性足以促进任务习得。