• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Saturday, August 30, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Health

Engineers use tiny device to change songbird pitch, improve understanding of human speech

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
March 31, 2021
in Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

University of Arizona engineers have created a tiny, wireless device to rapidly change the pitch of adult songbirds’ songs, with the goal of better understanding communication and speech in the human brain.

IMAGE

Credit: University of Arizona Gutruf Lab

The human brain regions responsible for speech and communication keep our world running by allowing us to do things like talk with friends, shout for help in an emergency and present information in meetings.

However, scientific understanding of just how these parts of the brain work is limited. Consequently, knowledge of how to improve challenges such as speech impediments or language acquisition is limited as well.

Using an ultra-lightweight, wireless implant, a University of Arizona team is researching songbirds – one of the few species that share humans’ ability to learn new vocalizations – to improve scientific understanding of human speech. A paper about their work was published today in the journal Nature Communications.

“Using new methods of antenna design and optimized electronics, we were able to shrink the devices dramatically compared to existing versions, to about a third of the size of a dime and as thin as a sheet of paper,” said lead author Jokubas Ausra, a biomedical engineering doctoral student in the Gutruf Lab, where the devices were created.

There are several ways the device can be used to study the link between brain behavior and vocalization. It can monitor the bird for slight temperature changes that indicate when a bird is most likely to sing. Using a technique called optogenetics, researchers can modulate neuron groups in the brain regions used for birdsong. In this study, the team found that remotely controlling specific neurons during birdsong using their unique device caused the song to change pitch.

“We are excited to expand the toolbox of neuroscientists and hope to enable many exciting studies that decipher the working principles of the brain,” said senior author Philipp Gutruf, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and Craig M. Berge Fellow in the UArizona College of Engineering.

The Gutruf Lab has developed other wireless lightweight devices used to monitor brain activity in rodents, but birds’ ability to move in 3D space represents an added challenge. This tiny device allows the birds to move without restriction – a breakthrough enabled by careful management of the energy sent wirelessly to the implant.

“Because of the small size and light weight, the birds can move freely and live permanently with the implant without affecting their behavior or health, which opens up many possibilities to study the basis for vocal communication,” said co-senior author Julie Miller, an assistant professor of neuroscience and speech, language and hearing sciences at UArizona.

The team’s next goal is to expand device capabilities to also record neuron activity. This could allow researchers to visualize brain activity during song learning and performance to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying brain mechanisms.

###

Media Contact
Emily Dieckman
[email protected]

Original Source

https://news.engineering.arizona.edu/news/engineers-use-confetti-sized-device-change-songbird-pitch-improve-understanding-human-speech

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22138-8

Tags: Biomedical/Environmental/Chemical EngineeringBiotechnologyHearing/SpeechLanguage/Linguistics/SpeechNanotechnology/MicromachinesResearch/DevelopmentTechnology/Engineering/Computer Science
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Renal Transplants for Older Adults: A Fresh Perspective

August 30, 2025

Viral Interference Disrupts RSV Epidemics in Stockholm

August 30, 2025

Empowering Students: Virtual Workshops Enhance Research Access

August 30, 2025

Risk Factors for Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preemies

August 30, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    152 shares
    Share 61 Tweet 38
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    142 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    116 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    82 shares
    Share 33 Tweet 21

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Renal Transplants for Older Adults: A Fresh Perspective

Viral Interference Disrupts RSV Epidemics in Stockholm

Empowering Students: Virtual Workshops Enhance Research Access

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.