Categories: Behaviour / neurological phene

Possibly relevant human trait(s) and/or gene(s)s (MIM numbers): 209850 (trait) , 300425 (trait) , 300495 (trait) , 300496 (trait) , 300847 (trait) , 606053 (trait) , 607373 (trait) , 608049 (trait) , 609378 (trait) , 610676 (trait) , 610836 (trait) , 610838 (trait) , 610908 (trait) , 611015 (trait) , 611016 (trait) , 612100 (trait) , 613410 (trait) , 613436 (trait) , 614671 (trait) , 615032 (trait) , 615091 (trait)

Links to MONDO diseases: No links.

Mendelian trait/disorder: unknown

Considered a defect: yes

Species-specific symbol: ASD

Species-specific description: In a review of previous research on speech development in this species, Panaitof (2013) states "Like humans, but unlike traditional laboratory animals such as rodents or non-human primates, songbirds exhibit the capacity of vocal learning, a key subcomponent of language. . . . Here I highlight recent advances in using the songbird model to probe the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the formation and function of neural circuitry for birdsong and, by analogy, human language, with the ultimate goal of identifying any shared or human unique biological pathways underscoring language development and its disruption in ASD [autism spectrum disorder]".