Song, Sleep, and the Slow Evolution of Thoughts

Exploring the neural mechanisms of learning, this book delves into song memorization in canaries and the impact of sleep on memory consolidation in rats. It reveals how a specific forebrain nucleus encodes syllabic patterns influenced by experience and attention. Additionally, it examines how sleep can alter gene expression based on prior stimuli. The final chapter proposes a hypothesis about the nature of thoughts as electrical activity waves in the brain, tracing the evolutionary relationship between brains and thoughts from ancient times to today.