Erich Jarvis Seeks to Engineer New Animal Voices at 60 to Probe Speech Origins
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 5
Erich Jarvis Seeks to Engineer New Animal Voices at 60 to Probe Speech Origins
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 5
Summary
Rockefeller neurobiologist Erich Jarvis, 60, is trying to genetically engineer birds or mice to vocalize in new ways to uncover how speech evolved.
His work centers on vocal learning—a rare trait—by asking why some birds build complex song repertoires while species such as chickens or pigeons do not.
Manipulating genes in non-vocal-learning animals could reveal the brain circuits behind speech and music-like communication.
Jarvis says the research could eventually inform treatments for human speech problems and other brain disorders, extending findings from birds and mice to medicine.