Dear colleagues, On October 15, the Developing Minds global online lecture series is proud to host Michael H. Goldstein, Cornell University, USA, speaking on „Mechanisms of socially guided vocal learning in human infants and songbirds: Connecting contingency to curiosity-driven learning“. His talk will take place at: 09:00 am EDT (Eastern Daylight Time, USA) 13:00 UTC (Universal Coordinated Time) 15:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time) 22:00 JST (Japan Standard Time) The talk will be hosted via zoom: https://uni-frankfurt.zoom-x.de/j/69608764770?pwd=gOHzVZ5y86Ic0MZFik6khLk0mF... Meeting-ID: 696 0876 4770 Code: 401171 Abstract: The ability to learn a vocal repertoire is a rare phenomenon, emerging in only a handful of groups, including humans and songbirds. A key parallel in the vocal development of certain songbirds and human babies is the social function of immature vocalizations. The form and timing of adult-infant interactions facilitate real-time vocal learning and have strong influences on the development of mature birdsong and language. Specifically, contingent responses of adults to the plastic song of birds and the babbling of babies have strong influences on learning. What makes contingency effective? We will examine curiosity-driven learning (CDL) as a framework for a mechanistic understanding of learning from contingent social interactions. In CDL, intrinsic reward is generated by changes in the predictability of social interactions as a function of immature vocal behavior. We will discuss several tests of this idea at the behavioral and neural levels in songbirds and human infants. Taken together, my studies indicate that temporal characteristics of social interaction are rewarding to young songbirds and human infants, and reward pathways may drive learning in social contexts. Short Bio: Michael Goldstein is a Professor of Psychology and a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University. He received his PhD in developmental psychology and animal behavior from Indiana University. Michael studies the development and evolution of vocal communication and social learning. He takes a comparative approach, investigating vocal communication and social development in human infants and songbirds. His research on the developmental processes by which knowledge of speech and song are acquired has revealed new mechanisms by which the social environment influences the learning of species-typical adaptive skills. By studying social interaction and learning as it occurs in moment-to-moment interactions between infants and social partners, Michael’s research connects our knowledge of social influences on developmental outcomes with specific processes of learning. A major finding from his work is that immature vocal behavior, such as babbling in humans and plastic song in songbirds, has crucial functional significance for learning, but only when studied in a social context. Michael received the David Kucharski Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology and the Distinguished Early Career Contribution Award from the International Society on Infant Studies. His research has been supported by grants from NICHD and NSF. The talk will be recorded and made available for later viewing. For more information on the talk series and recordings of previous events, please visit: https://sites.google.com/view/developing-minds-series/home Best regards, Jochen Triesch -- Prof. Dr. Jochen Triesch Johanna Quandt Chair for Theoretical Life Sciences Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies and Goethe University Frankfurt Recent publications: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64234-z https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/11204381?casa_token=RBlsm2RTae...