IMPRINTING, LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT - FROM BEHAVIOR TO BRAIN AND BACK

Neural and behavioural analyses have shown that the formation of filia l preferences in young, precocial birds involves at least two separate processes. One process is an emerging predisposition to approach stim uli with the characteristics of the natural mother. The other (learnin g) process of filial imprinting results in chicks preferentially appro aching a stimulus to which they have been exposed and involves forming links between the components of the exposed stimulus.The neural subst rate for the predisposition is different from that underlying imprinti ng, and different regions of the chick brain are involved in distinct aspects of learning about imprinting stimuli.