= Evren C. Tumer
{c}
<Evren C. Tumer> is a researcher whose work with <Michael S. Brainard> tested how small variations in a practiced skill can support further <motor learning>. Their 2007 study examined adult <Bengalese finch> song, which is highly repeatable but still varies slightly between performances. They asked whether this variation was merely unavoidable noise or could provide alternatives from which <learning> selects.<Performance variability enables adaptive plasticity of crystallized adult birdsong by Evren C. Tumer and Michael S. Brainard>[Abstract and author byline; Nature 450, 1240–1244, 2007]{ref}
A computerized system measured the <pitch> of selected song elements and delivered an auditory disruption for only some of the naturally occurring variations. The birds shifted <pitch> to avoid the disruption, with changes restricted to the targeted features. The experiment therefore linked a measurable action, its outcome and a later change in performance. It showed that a stable adult skill can contain useful variation on which adaptive <motor learning> operates.<Performance variability enables adaptive plasticity of crystallized adult birdsong by Evren C. Tumer and Michael S. Brainard>[Abstract and Figures 1–4: contingent feedback, targeted changes and timing controls]{ref}
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