It has been long thought that this ability was innate, rather than learned, but the Duke researchers observed the mouse song system and were surprised to see that it included a motor cortex region active during singing.

ENGADGET: Alt-week 10.13.12: is the Universe a simulation, cloning dinosaurs and singing mice

He discovered that if a person who has long been paralyzed thinks "move my arm to the left, " the region in the brain responsible for moving arms--the motor cortex--fires away as if everything were connected.

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