Measuring context dependency in birdsong using artificial neural networks

PLoS Comput Biol. 2021 Dec 28;17(12):e1009707. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009707. eCollection 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Context dependency is a key feature in sequential structures of human language, which requires reference between words far apart in the produced sequence. Assessing how long the past context has an effect on the current status provides crucial information to understand the mechanism for complex sequential behaviors. Birdsongs serve as a representative model for studying the context dependency in sequential signals produced by non-human animals, while previous reports were upper-bounded by methodological limitations. Here, we newly estimated the context dependency in birdsongs in a more scalable way using a modern neural-network-based language model whose accessible context length is sufficiently long. The detected context dependency was beyond the order of traditional Markovian models of birdsong, but was consistent with previous experimental investigations. We also studied the relation between the assumed/auto-detected vocabulary size of birdsong (i.e., fine- vs. coarse-grained syllable classifications) and the context dependency. It turned out that the larger vocabulary (or the more fine-grained classification) is assumed, the shorter context dependency is detected.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Animals
  • Cluster Analysis
  • Computational Biology
  • Finches / physiology*
  • Male
  • Memory / physiology
  • Neural Networks, Computer*
  • Vocalization, Animal / classification*
  • Vocalization, Animal / physiology

Grants and funding

This study was supported by JSPS Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas #4903 (Evolinguistic; JP17H06380) to HK and KO, JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (JP19KT0023, JP21H03781) to ROT, and for Early-Career Scientists (JP21K17805) to TM, the JST Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology 17941861 (JPMJCR17A4) to HK and ACT-X 21454934 (JPMJAX21AN) to TM, and the Mitsubishi Foundation Research Grants in the Natural Sciences (202111014) to TM. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.