Overall, these findings [3] highlight the role of microRNAs and non-coding RNAs in the control of gene expression in the songbird brain, in addition to the active regulation of transcription factors and their respective target genes. When comparing hearing-driven transcripts with genes thought to have been positively selected in songbirds, a significant over-representation of genes encoding ion channels was uncovered [3], consistent with robust and complex expression patterns of ion channel-associated transcripts in stations of the song-control circuit [11,12].