This image shows the motor cortex neurons that directly project to the brainstem and ultimately control the larynx of male mice. Duke neurobiologist Erich Jarvis and his former graduate student, Gustavo Arriaga, discovered the neurons when testing mice for five features of vocal learning. The team found that mice have all five features, suggesting that they are more similar to humans than non-human primates in terms of learning and manipulating sounds. The results also suggest that mice could be the best model animals for studying autism and anxiety disorders and could even help scientists study the evolution of language.