My research focuses on vocal communication in birds.
There are many parallels between bird vocalization and human speech, for example the ability to learn to produce specific vocalizations from other individuals. Because such parallels are lacking in most nonhuman mammals, and because many birds are relatively easy to study in the lab, bird vocalization provides us with an interesting and practical model system to study how complex communication is caused by neural and peripheral systems. In addition I am interested in the phylogenetic origins and evolution of vocal communication mechanisms.
In my research I integrate empirical techniques and theoretical perspectives from cognitive neuroscience, ethology, comparative psychology, evolutionary biology, physiology, and biophysics.
My aim is to contribute to generating new insights for those interested in biological principles, and, potentially, for those building artificial devices, and fighting disease.
I work at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, in the Avian Sleep Group.
An other website that I maintain:
- Voorgeschiedenis van Zuid-Limburg: a website devoted to creating a digitial version of a book on the prehistory of Zuid-Limburg (a province in the Netherlands), written by my great-grandfather and grandfather.
