Budgerigar Brains Show Humanlike Speech Mechanisms

New research reveals parallels between budgerigar and human speech-motor regions, offering insights into speech disorders and communication.

Budgerigars possess a brain region, the anterior arcopallium (AAC), that functions similarly to human speech-motor areas, enabling complex vocalizations.
The neural activity in their AAC is organized like a 'vocal keyboard,' allowing precise prediction of sounds from brain signals.
This discovery marks the first time language-producing centers akin to humans have been identified in a nonhuman species.
Researchers are collaborating with machine learning experts to decode budgerigar vocalizations and understand their communication.
The study positions budgerigars as a promising model for advancing treatments for speech disorders such as Autism, Parkinson’s Disease, and aphasia.