SCIENCE LAB SCOOPS : EVOLUTION & RESEARCH

COURTEOUS RODENTS : A mutation gave humans the gift of gab. These mice have it - too.

In the balmy cloud forests of Central America, the operatic calls of Alston's singing mouse, a small, short-tailed rodent famous for its courteous communication, can often be heard echoing through the trees.

These mice, each of which weighs less than a light bulb, sing chirp-filled songs to one another that can last as long as 15 seconds. Both sonic and ultrasonic sounds flow from the mouse's mouth, creating a song reminiscent of the buzzing of a cicada.

What's more, the mice never interrupt each other ; they hold their tongues until their conversational partner is done singing.

Scientists have long wondered what enables these mice to have such uncannily complex conversations without the help of human brains.

But as it turns out - our brains may not be so different.

A new study finds that an expansion of existing natural pathways allowed these mice to broaden their vocal repertoire - the same mutation believed to have paved the way for the development of human language.

By studying the brains of singing mice and their non-singing mouse cousins, researchers at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, New York, determined what revolutionary changes in the brain had given rise to the mouse's songs.

Now, scientists wonder if the same method can be used to figure out the neurological basis for other animal behaviour.

This Master Research Publishing continues to Part 2. !WOW! thanks Annie Roth.