 In this study, researchers examined how behaviors are formed through a combination of experience and innate predispositions. They found that neural sequences emerged in bird songs when exposed to a tutor, but also observed that these sequences could be tightly associated with unlearned syllables if the bird had previously experienced them. This suggests that the more strongly connected the neural sequences are to existing experiences, the less likely they will be to form new associations with novel experiences. This article was authored by Emily L. McAvicious, Shijia Jiu, Natalia Idenizenko, and others.