Moorman Lab

Welcome to the Moorman lab’s web page!

We are interested in the neuroethology of auditory-vocal learning. The Moorman lab studies auditory-vocal learning and memory in the songbird, as a model for human speech acquisition. While most animals, including non-human primates, cannot vocally imitate, songbirds learn their vocalizations from conspecifics. The way in which songbirds learn to sing shares many parallels with how infants acquire speech – they need to hear conspecific song in a sensitive phase early in life to develop their own species-specific songs, and they use analogous brain regions for perception and production.

The questions that we address involve the neuronal representations of auditory-vocal learning: on the level of long-term sensory memory, and including the roles of brain-hemispheric lateralization and sleep in these processes. We use a combination of behavioral analyses and neural recordings; in particular, acoustic song recordings, video analyses of behavioral responses, in vivo imaging of neural activity, and histological processing of brain tissue.

Our group is part of the Groningen Institute for Life Sciences of the University of Groningen, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, The Netherlands. We are also connected with the Research School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences (BCN) in Groningen.

For any inquiries or further information, please feel welcome to contact: Dr. Sanne Moorman, s.moorman(at)rug.nl

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