Journal articles: 'Primate vocalizations'

1

Boë, Louis-Jean, Thomas R. Sawallis, Joël Fagot, Pierre Badin, Guillaume Barbier, Guillaume Captier, Lucie Ménard, Jean-Louis Heim, and Jean-Luc Schwartz. "Which way to the dawn of speech?: Reanalyzing half a century of debates and data in light of speech science." Science Advances 5, no. 12 (December 2019): eaaw3916. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw3916.

Full text

Abstract:

Recent articles on primate articulatory abilities are revolutionary regarding speech emergence, a crucial aspect of language evolution, by revealing a human-like system of proto-vowels in nonhuman primates and implicitly throughout our hominid ancestry. This article presents both a schematic history and the state of the art in primate vocalization research and its importance for speech emergence. Recent speech research advances allow more incisive comparison of phylogeny and ontogeny and also an illuminating reinterpretation of vintage primate vocalization data. This review produces three major findings. First, even among primates, laryngeal descent is not uniquely human. Second, laryngeal descent is not required to produce contrasting formant patterns in vocalizations. Third, living nonhuman primates produce vocalizations with contrasting formant patterns. Thus, evidence now overwhelmingly refutes the long-standing laryngeal descent theory, which pushes back “the dawn of speech” beyond ~200 ka ago to over ~20 Ma ago, a difference of two orders of magnitude.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

2

Romanski, Lizabeth M., Bruno B. Averbeck, and Mark Diltz. "Neural Representation of Vocalizations in the Primate Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex." Journal of Neurophysiology 93, no. 2 (February 2005): 734–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/jn.00675.2004.

Full text

Abstract:

In this study, we examined the role of the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex in encoding communication stimuli. Specifically, we recorded single-unit responses from the ventrolateral prefrontal cortext (vlPFC) in awake behaving rhesus macaques in response to species-specific vocalizations. We determined the selectivity of vlPFC cells for 10 types of rhesus vocalizations and also asked what types of vocalizations cluster together in the neuronal response. The data from the present study demonstrate that vlPFC auditory neurons respond to a variety of species-specific vocalizations from a previously characterized library. Most vlPFC neurons responded to two to five vocalizations, while a small percentage of cells responded either selectively to a particular vocalization type or nonselectively to most auditory stimuli tested. Use of information theoretic approaches to examine vocalization tuning indicates that on average, vlPFC neurons encode information about one or two vocalizations. Further analysis of the types of vocalizations that vlPFC cells typically respond to using hierarchical cluster analysis suggests that the responses of vlPFC cells to multiple vocalizations is not based strictly on the call's function or meaning but may be due to other features including acoustic morphology. These data are consistent with a role for the primate vlPFC in assessing distinctive acoustic features.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

3

Eliades, Steven J., and Xiaoqin Wang. "Sensory-Motor Interaction in the Primate Auditory Cortex During Self-Initiated Vocalizations." Journal of Neurophysiology 89, no. 4 (April 1, 2003): 2194–207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/jn.00627.2002.

Full text

Abstract:

Little is known about sensory-motor interaction in the auditory cortex of primates at the level of single neurons and its role in supporting vocal communication. The present study investigated single-unit activities in the auditory cortex of a vocal primate, the common marmoset ( Callithrix jacchus), during self-initiated vocalizations. We found that 1) self-initiated vocalizations resulted in suppression of neural discharges in a majority of auditory cortical neurons. The vocalization-induced inhibition suppressed both spontaneous and stimulus-driven discharges. Suppressed units responded poorly to external acoustic stimuli during vocalization. 2) Vocalization-induced suppression began several hundred milliseconds prior to the onset of vocalization. 3) The suppression of cortical discharges reduced neural firings to below the rates expected from a unit's rate-level function, adjusted for known subcortical attenuation, and therefore was likely not entirely caused by subcortical attenuation mechanisms. 4) A smaller population of auditory cortical neurons showed increased discharges during self-initiated vocalizations. This vocalization-related excitation began after the onset of vocalization and is likely the result of acoustic feedback. Units showing this excitation responded nearly normally to external stimuli during vocalization. Based on these findings, we propose that the suppression of auditory cortical neurons, possibly originating from cortical vocal production centers, acts to increase the dynamic range of cortical responses to vocalization feedback for self monitoring. The excitatory responses, on the other hand, likely play a role in maintaining hearing sensitivity to the external acoustic environment during vocalization.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

4

Liao, Diana A., Yisi S. Zhang, Lili X. Cai, and Asif A. Ghazanfar. "Internal states and extrinsic factors both determine monkey vocal production." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, no. 15 (March 26, 2018): 3978–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1722426115.

Full text

Abstract:

A key question for understanding speech evolution is whether or not the vocalizations of our closest living relatives—nonhuman primates—represent the precursors to speech. Some believe that primate vocalizations are not volitional but are instead inextricably linked to internal states like arousal and thus bear little resemblance to human speech. Others disagree and believe that since many primates can use their vocalizations strategically, this demonstrates a degree of voluntary vocal control. In the current study, we present a behavioral paradigm that reliably elicits different types of affiliative vocalizations from marmoset monkeys while measuring their heart rate fluctuations using noninvasive electromyography. By modulating both the physical distance between marmosets and the sensory information available to them, we find that arousal levels are linked, but not inextricably, to vocal production. Different arousal levels are, generally, associated with changes in vocal acoustics and the drive to produce different call types. However, in contexts where marmosets are interacting, the production of these different call types is also affected by extrinsic factors such as the timing of a conspecific’s vocalization. These findings suggest that variability in vocal output as a function of context might reflect trade-offs between the drive to perpetuate vocal contact and conserving energy.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

5

Schruth, David M., Christopher N. Templeton, and Darryl J. Holman. "On reappearance and complexity in musical calling." PLOS ONE 16, no. 12 (December 17, 2021): e0218006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218006.

Full text

Abstract:

Music is especially valued in human societies, but music-like behavior in the form of song also occurs in a variety of other animal groups including primates. The calling of our primate ancestors may well have evolved into the music of modern humans via multiple selective scenarios. But efforts to uncover these influences have been hindered by the challenge of precisely defining musical behavior in a way that could be more generally applied across species. We propose an acoustic focused reconsideration of “musicality” that could help enable independent inquiry into potential ecological pressures on the evolutionary emergence of such behavior. Using published spectrographic images (n = 832 vocalizations) from the primate vocalization literature, we developed a quantitative formulation that could be used to help recognize signatures of human-like musicality in the acoustic displays of other species. We visually scored each spectrogram along six structural features from human music—tone, interval, transposition, repetition, rhythm, and syllabic variation—and reduced this multivariate assessment into a concise measure of musical patterning, as informed by principal components analysis. The resulting acoustic reappearance diversity index (ARDI) estimates the number of different reappearing syllables within a call type. ARDI is in concordance with traditional measures of bird song complexity yet more readily identifies shorter, more subtly melodic primate vocalizations. We demonstrate the potential utility of this index by using it to corroborate several origins scenarios. When comparing ARDI scores with ecological features, our data suggest that vocalizations with diversely reappearing elements have a pronounced association with both social and environmental factors. Musical calls were moderately associated with wooded habitats and arboreal foraging, providing partial support for the acoustic adaptation hypothesis. But musical calling was most strongly associated with social monogamy, suggestive of selection for constituents of small family-sized groups by neighboring conspecifics. In sum, ARDI helps construe musical behavior along a continuum, accommodates non-human musicality, and enables gradualistic co-evolutionary paths between primate taxa—ranging from the more inhibited locational calls of archaic primates to the more exhibitional displays of modern apes.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

6

Bolt, Laura M. "Affiliative Contact Calls during Group Travel: Chirp and Wail Vocalization Use in the Male Ring-Tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)." Folia Primatologica 91, no. 6 (2020): 575–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000508808.

Full text

Abstract:

Affiliative vocalizations occur across primate taxa and may be used to maintain spatial cohesion and/or to regulate social interactions in group-living species. For gregarious strepsirhines like the ring-tailed lemur (<i>Lemur catta</i>), with large vocal repertoires and several distinct affiliative vocalizations including the chirp and wail, it is important to understand behavioural usage of these vocalizations to gain insight into their social interactions. To determine whether chirp and wail vocalizations facilitate group cohesion, regulate interactions to achieve socially positive outcomes, and are correlated with differences in individual characteristics such as dominance rank and age, I collected 565 h of focal data on 31 males aged ≥1 year at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar, from March to July 2010. I found that chirp and wail vocalizations occurred at the highest rates during group-wide travel compared to other behaviours. Although nearest neighbour distance did not influence calling rate, focal animals maintained the same distance or were located closer to nearest neighbours after calling. Both chirp and wail calls were heard in behavioural contexts without agonism rather than agonistic contexts. No relationship was found between male calling rate and dominance rank or age, although the chirp showed a non-significant tendency to be produced at higher rates by younger males. Overall, my results indicated that ring-tailed lemur males of all ages and dominance ranks used both chirp and wail vocalizations as contact calls during group-wide travel events, helping individuals maintain proximity to other group members during movement. Chirp and wail vocalizations may additionally help regulate the caller’s social interactions and promote increased tolerance from conspecifics. These findings add to our understanding of the breadth of communication behaviour in wild lemurs, thus furthering our knowledge of the social lives and cognitive abilities of strepsirhines. Through examining the complexity of vocalization use by a living lemur species with a communication system much like early social primates, we gain broad insight into the evolution of primate sociality.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

7

Zhao, Lingyun, Bahar Boroumand Rad, and Xiaoqin Wang. "Long-lasting vocal plasticity in adult marmoset monkeys." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 286, no. 1905 (June 26, 2019): 20190817. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0817.

Full text

Abstract:

Humans exhibit a high level of vocal plasticity in speech production, which allows us to acquire both native and foreign languages and dialects, and adapt to local accents in social communication. In comparison, non-human primates exhibit limited vocal plasticity, especially in adulthood, which would limit their ability to adapt to different social and environmental contexts in vocal communication. Here, we quantitatively examined the ability of adult common marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus ), a highly vocal New World primate species, to modulate their vocal production in social contexts. While recent studies have demonstrated vocal learning in developing marmosets, we know much less about the extent of vocal learning and plasticity in adult marmosets. We found, in the present study, that marmosets were able to adaptively modify the spectrotemporal structure of their vocalizations when they encountered interfering sounds. Our experiments showed that marmosets shifted the spectrum of their vocalizations away from the spectrum of the interfering sounds in order to avoid the overlap. More interestingly, we found that marmosets made predictive and long-lasting spectral shifts in their vocalizations after they had experienced a particular type of interfering sound. These observations provided evidence for directional control of the vocalization spectrum and long-term vocal plasticity by adult marmosets. The findings reported here have important implications for the ability of this New World primate species in voluntarily and adaptively controlling their vocal production in social communication.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

8

Woodruff Carr, Kali, Danielle R. Perszyk, and Sandra R. Waxman. "Birdsong fails to support object categorization in human infants." PLOS ONE 16, no. 3 (March 11, 2021): e0247430. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0247430.

Full text

Abstract:

Recent evidence reveals a precocious link between language and cognition in human infants: listening to their native language supports infants’ core cognitive processes, including object categorization, and does so in a way that other acoustic signals (e.g., time-reversed speech; sine-wave tone sequences) do not. Moreover, language is not the only signal that confers this cognitive advantage: listening to vocalizations of non-human primates also supports object categorization in 3- and 4-month-olds. Here, we move beyond primate vocalizations to clarify the breadth of acoustic signals that promote infant cognition. We ask whether listening to birdsong, another naturally produced animal vocalization, also supports object categorization in 3- and 4-month-old infants. We report that listening to zebra finch song failed to confer a cognitive advantage. This outcome brings us closer to identifying a boundary condition on the range of non-linguistic acoustic signals that initially support infant cognition.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

9

Cheney, Dorothy L., and Robert M. Seyfarth. "Flexible usage and social function in primate vocalizations." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, no. 9 (February 5, 2018): 1974–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1717572115.

Full text

Abstract:

Vocalizations are a pervasive feature of nonhuman primate social life, yet we know surprisingly little about their function. We review studies supporting the hypothesis that many primate vocalizations function to facilitate social interactions by reducing uncertainty about the signaler’s intentions and likely behavior. Such interactions help to establish and maintain the social bonds that increase reproductive success. Compared with humans, songbirds, and a few other mammals, primates have small vocal repertoires that show little acoustic modification during development. However, their ability to modify call usage is extensive and tuned to variation in the social context, including the historical relationship between caller and listener and the caller’s assessment of how a listener is likely to respond. We suggest parallels between the decision to vocalize and neurophysiological studies of other, nonvocal social decisions between interacting monkeys. The selective factors driving the early stages of language evolution may have come from the need to make decisions about when and how to call within the context of social challenges.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

10

Norris, Jeffrey C. "Intraspecific variation in primate vocalizations." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 99, no. 4 (April 1996): 2532–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.415800.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

11

Ramsier, Marissa A., Andrew J. Cunningham, Gillian L. Moritz, James J. Finneran, Cathy V. Williams, Perry S. Ong, Sharon L. Gursky-Doyen, and Nathaniel J. Dominy. "Primate communication in the pure ultrasound." Biology Letters 8, no. 4 (February 8, 2012): 508–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.1149.

Full text

Abstract:

Few mammals—cetaceans, domestic cats and select bats and rodents—can send and receive vocal signals contained within the ultrasonic domain, or pure ultrasound (greater than 20 kHz). Here, we use the auditory brainstem response (ABR) method to demonstrate that a species of nocturnal primate, the Philippine tarsier ( Tarsius syrichta ), has a high-frequency limit of auditory sensitivity of ca 91 kHz. We also recorded a vocalization with a dominant frequency of 70 kHz. Such values are among the highest recorded for any terrestrial mammal, and a relatively extreme example of ultrasonic communication. For Philippine tarsiers, ultrasonic vocalizations might represent a private channel of communication that subverts detection by predators, prey and competitors, enhances energetic efficiency, or improves detection against low-frequency background noise.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

12

Fischer, Julia, and Kurt Hammerschmidt. "Towards a new taxonomy of primate vocal production learning." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 375, no. 1789 (November 18, 2019): 20190045. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2019.0045.

Full text

Abstract:

The extent to which vocal learning can be found in nonhuman primates is key to reconstructing the evolution of speech. Regarding the adjustment of vocal output in relation to auditory experience (vocal production learning in the narrow sense), effects on the ontogenetic trajectory of vocal development as well as adjustment to group-specific call features have been found. Yet, a comparison of the vocalizations of different primate genera revealed striking similarities in the structure of calls and repertoires in different species of the same genus, indicating that the structure of nonhuman primate vocalizations is highly conserved. Thus, modifications in relation to experience only appear to be possible within relatively tight species-specific constraints. By contrast, comprehension learning may be extremely rapid and open-ended. In conjunction, these findings corroborate the idea of an ancestral independence of vocal production and auditory comprehension learning. To overcome the futile debate about whether or not vocal production learning can be found in nonhuman primates, we suggest putting the focus on the different mechanisms that may mediate the adjustment of vocal output in response to experience; these mechanisms may include auditory facilitation and learning from success. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language?’

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

13

Zuberbühler, Klaus. "The Phylogenetic Roots of Language." Current Directions in Psychological Science 14, no. 3 (June 2005): 126–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00357.x.

Full text

Abstract:

The anatomy of the nonhuman primate vocal tract is not fundamentally different from the human one. Notwithstanding, nonhuman primates are remarkably unskillful at controlling vocal production and at combining basic call units into more complex strings. Instead, their vocal behavior is linked to specific psychological states, which are evoked by events in their social or physical environment. Humans are the only primates that have evolved the ability to produce elaborate and willfully controlled vocal signals, although this may have been a fairly recent invention. Despite their expressive limitations, nonhuman primates have demonstrated a surprising degree of cognitive complexity when responding to other individuals' vocalizations, suggesting that, as recipients, crucial linguistic abilities are part of primate cognition. Pivotal aspects of language comprehension, particularly the ability to process semantic content, may thus be part of our primate heritage. The strongest evidence currently comes from Old World monkeys, but recent work indicates that these capacities may also be present in our closest relatives, the chimpanzees.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

14

Seyfarth, Robert M. "Continuities in vocal communication argue against a gestural origin of language." Behavioral and Brain Sciences 28, no. 2 (April 2005): 144–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x05420038.

Full text

Abstract:

To conclude that language evolved from vocalizations, through gestures, then back to vocalizations again, one must first reject the simpler hypothesis that language evolved from prelinguistic vocalizations. There is no reason to do so. Many studies – not cited by Arbib – document continuities in behavior, perception, cognition, and neurophysiology between human speech and primate vocal communication.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

15

Ni, Ruiye, David A. Bender, Amirali M. Shanechi, Jeffrey R. Gamble, and Dennis L. Barbour. "Contextual effects of noise on vocalization encoding in primary auditory cortex." Journal of Neurophysiology 117, no. 2 (February 1, 2017): 713–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/jn.00476.2016.

Full text

Abstract:

Robust auditory perception plays a pivotal function for processing behaviorally relevant sounds, particularly with distractions from the environment. The neuronal coding enabling this ability, however, is still not well understood. In this study, we recorded single-unit activity from the primary auditory cortex (A1) of awake marmoset monkeys ( Callithrix jacchus) while delivering conspecific vocalizations degraded by two different background noises: broadband white noise and vocalization babble. Noise effects on neural representation of target vocalizations were quantified by measuring the responses' similarity to those elicited by natural vocalizations as a function of signal-to-noise ratio. A clustering approach was used to describe the range of response profiles by reducing the population responses to a summary of four response classes (robust, balanced, insensitive, and brittle) under both noise conditions. This clustering approach revealed that, on average, approximately two-thirds of the neurons change their response class when encountering different noises. Therefore, the distortion induced by one particular masking background in single-unit responses is not necessarily predictable from that induced by another, suggesting the low likelihood of a unique group of noise-invariant neurons across different background conditions in A1. Regarding noise influence on neural activities, the brittle response group showed addition of spiking activity both within and between phrases of vocalizations relative to clean vocalizations, whereas the other groups generally showed spiking activity suppression within phrases, and the alteration between phrases was noise dependent. Overall, the variable single-unit responses, yet consistent response types, imply that primate A1 performs scene analysis through the collective activity of multiple neurons. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The understanding of where and how auditory scene analysis is accomplished is of broad interest to neuroscientists. In this paper, we systematically investigated neuronal coding of multiple vocalizations degraded by two distinct noises at various signal-to-noise ratios in nonhuman primates. In the process, we uncovered heterogeneity of single-unit representations for different auditory scenes yet homogeneity of responses across the population.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

16

Vauclair, Jacques. "Lateralization of communicative signals in nonhuman primates and the hypothesis of the gestural origin of language." Interaction Studies 5, no. 3 (April 18, 2005): 365–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/is.5.3.04vau.

Full text

Abstract:

This article argues for the gestural origins of speech and language based on the available evidence gathered in humans and nonhuman primates and especially from ape studies. The strong link between motor functions (hand use and manual gestures) and speech in humans is reviewed. The presence of asymmetrical cerebral organization in nonhuman primates along with functional asymmetries in the perception and production of vocalizations and in intentional referential gestural communication is then emphasized. The nature of primate communicatory systems is presented, and the similarities and differences between these systems and human speech are discussed. It is argued that recent findings concerning neuroanatomical asymmetries in the chimpanzee brain and the existence of both mirror neurons and lateralized use of hands and vocalizations in communication necessitate a reconsideration of the phylogenic emergence of the cerebral and behavioral prerequisites for human speech.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

17

Blumstein, Daniel T. "The evolution of functionally referential alarm communication." Evolution of Communication 3, no. 2 (December 31, 1999): 135–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/eoc.3.2.03blu.

Full text

Abstract:

Many species produce specific alarm vocalizations when they encounter predators. There is considerable interest in the degree to which bird, ground-dwelling sciurid rodent, and primate alarm calls denote the species or type of predator that elicited the vocalization. When there is a tight association between the type or species of predator eliciting an alarm call, and when a played-back alarm call elicits antipredator responses qualitatively similar to those seen when individuals personally encounter a predator, the alarm calls are said to be functionally referential. In this essay I aim to make two simple points about the evolution of functionally referential alarm communication. Firstly, functionally referential communication is likely to be present only when a species produces acoustically distinct alarm vocalizations. Thus, to understand its evolution we must study factors that influence the evolution of alarm call repertoire size. Secondly, and potentially decoupled from the ability to produce acoustically distinctive alarm vocalizations, species must have the perceptual and motor abilities to respond differently to acoustically-distinct alarm vocalizations. Thus, to understand the evolution of functionally referential communication we also must study factors that influence the evolution of context-independent perception. While some factors may select for functionally referential alarm communication, constraints on production or perception may prevent its evolution.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

18

Neumann, Christof, and Klaus Zuberbühler. "Vocal correlates of individual sooty mangabey travel speed and direction." PeerJ 4 (July 28, 2016): e2298. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2298.

Full text

Abstract:

Many group-living animals coordinate movements with acoustic signals, but so far most studies have focused on how group movements are initiated. In this study, we investigated movement patterns of wild sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys), a mostly terrestrial, forest-dwelling primate. We provide quantitative results showing that vocalization rates of mangabey subgroups, but not of focal individuals, correlated with focal individuals’ current movement patterns. More interestingly, vocal behaviour predicted whether individuals changed future speed, and possibly future travel direction. The role of vocalizations as a potential mechanism for the regulation of group movement was further highlighted by interaction effects that include subgroup size and the quality of poly-specific associations. Collectively, our results suggest that primate vocal behaviour can function beyond travel initiation in coordination and regulation of group movements.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

19

Brown, Charles H., Fritz E. Brown, K. Leigh Santos, and Paul A. Dagenais. "Acoustic and laryngographic measurements of primate vocalizations." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 92, no. 4 (October 1992): 2423. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.404658.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

20

Masataka, Nobuo, and Masanori Kohda. "Primate Play Vocalizations and Their Functional Significance." Folia Primatologica 50, no. 1-2 (1988): 152–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000156341.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

21

Ferguson, Brock, Danielle R. Perszyk, and Sandra R. Waxman. "Very young infants' responses to human and nonhuman primate vocalizations." Behavioral and Brain Sciences 37, no. 6 (December 2014): 553–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x13004019.

Full text

Abstract:

AbstractRecent evidence from very young human infants' responses to human and nonhuman primate vocalizations offers new insights – and brings new questions – to the forefront for those who seek to integrate primate-general and human-specific mechanisms of acoustic communication with theories of language acquisition.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

22

Frühholz, Sascha, David Sander, and Didier Grandjean. "Functional neuroimaging of human vocalizations and affective speech." Behavioral and Brain Sciences 37, no. 6 (December 2014): 554–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x13004020.

Full text

Abstract:

AbstractNeuroimaging studies have verified the important integrative role of the basal ganglia during affective vocalizations. They, however, also point to additional regions supporting vocal monitoring, auditory–motor feedback processing, and online adjustments of vocal motor responses. For the case of affective vocalizations, we suggest partly extending the model to fully consider the link between primate-general and human-specific neural components.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

23

Brown, Charles H., Rafael Gomez, and Peter M. Waser. "Are primate vocalizations adapted to the local habitat?" Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 91, no. 4 (April 1992): 2466. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.403021.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

24

Bergman, Thore J., Jacinta C. Beehner, Melissa C. Painter, and Morgan L. Gustison. "The speech-like properties of nonhuman primate vocalizations." Animal Behaviour 151 (May 2019): 229–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.02.015.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

25

Wang, Xiaoqin, and Siddhartha C. Kadia. "Differential Representation of Species-Specific Primate Vocalizations in the Auditory Cortices of Marmoset and Cat." Journal of Neurophysiology 86, no. 5 (November 1, 2001): 2616–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/jn.2001.86.5.2616.

Full text

Abstract:

A number of studies in various species have demonstrated that natural vocalizations generally produce stronger neural responses than do their time-reversed versions. The majority of neurons in the primary auditory cortex (A1) of marmoset monkeys responds more strongly to natural marmoset vocalizations than to the time-reversed vocalizations. However, it was unclear whether such differences in neural responses were simply due to the difference between the acoustic structures of natural and time-reversed vocalizations or whether they also resulted from the difference in behavioral relevance of both types of the stimuli. To address this issue, we have compared neural responses to natural and time-reversed marmoset twitter calls in A1 of cats with those obtained from A1 of marmosets using identical stimuli. It was found that the preference for natural marmoset twitter calls demonstrated in marmoset A1 was absent in cat A1. While both cortices responded approximately equally to time-reversed twitter calls, marmoset A1 responded much more strongly to natural twitter calls than did cat A1. This differential representation of marmoset vocalizations in two cortices suggests that experience-dependent and possibly species-specific mechanisms are involved in cortical processing of communication sounds.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

26

Engelberg, Jonathan W. M., Jay W. Schwartz, and Harold Gouzoules. "Do human screams permit individual recognition?" PeerJ 7 (June 24, 2019): e7087. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7087.

Full text

Abstract:

The recognition of individuals through vocalizations is a highly adaptive ability in the social behavior of many species, including humans. However, the extent to which nonlinguistic vocalizations such as screams permit individual recognition in humans remains unclear. Using a same-different vocalizer discrimination task, we investigated participants’ ability to correctly identify whether pairs of screams were produced by the same person or two different people, a critical prerequisite to individual recognition. Despite prior theory-based contentions that screams are not acoustically well-suited to conveying identity cues, listeners discriminated individuals at above-chance levels by their screams, including both acoustically modified and unmodified exemplars. We found that vocalizer gender explained some variation in participants’ discrimination abilities and response times, but participant attributes (gender, experience, empathy) did not. Our findings are consistent with abundant evidence from nonhuman primates, suggesting that both human and nonhuman screams convey cues to caller identity, thus supporting the thesis of evolutionary continuity in at least some aspects of scream function across primate species.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

27

Clay, Zanna, Simone Pika, Thibaud Gruber, and Klaus Zuberbühler. "Female bonobos use copulation calls as social signals." Biology Letters 7, no. 4 (March 2, 2011): 513–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2010.1227.

Full text

Abstract:

During mating events, females of many primate species produce loud and distinct vocalizations known as ‘copulation calls’. The adaptive significance of these signals is considered to be in promoting the caller's direct reproductive success. Here, we investigated copulation calling in bonobos ( Pan paniscus ), a species in which females produce these vocalizations during sexual interactions with partners of both sexes. Females were more likely to call when mating with males than with females. We also observed a positive relationship between the likelihood of calling and partner rank, regardless of partner sex. Sexual activity generally increased with swelling size (an indicator of reproductive state) and, during their peak swelling, females called more with male than with female partners. Female bonobos are unusual among the non-human primates in terms of their heightened socio-sexuality. Our results suggest that in this species, copulation calls have undergone an evolutionary transition from a purely reproductive to a more general social function, reflecting the intrinsic evolutionary links between vocal behaviour and social cognition.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

28

Garrison, L. K., and F. J. White. "Group Formation and Behavioural Changes with Release to Free-Ranging in Red Ruffed Lemurs, Varecia Variegata Rubra." Animal Welfare 2, no. 3 (August 1993): 219–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0962728600015888.

Full text

Abstract:

AbstractThe social behaviour, ranging, and stereotypic behaviours of four red ruffed lemurs (one female, three males) was observed during group formation and release into a 2.25ha natural habitat enclosure at the Duke University Primate Center (DUPC). The female was immediately dominant to all males and there was no female-male affiliation during the initial stages of group formation. The group became identifiable as a unit after release to free-ranging when affiliation and group vocalizations began. Affiliation and vocalizations continued during subsequent recagings. Male dominance rank reflected relative age, but was subject to reversals. The stresses involved in release and group formation, however, can temporarily produce new aberrant behaviours which are soon replaced by normal behaviours. Once released into the large enclosure, stereotypic behaviours became infrequent but did not disappear. Other novel behaviours such as catatonic huddle and all male huddles were observed during release. Natural habitat enclosures can be important tools in the psychological well-being of captive primates.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

29

Borjon, Jeremy I., Daniel Y. Takahashi, Diego C. Cervantes, and Asif A. Ghazanfar. "Arousal dynamics drive vocal production in marmoset monkeys." Journal of Neurophysiology 116, no. 2 (August 1, 2016): 753–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/jn.00136.2016.

Full text

Abstract:

Vocal production is the result of interacting cognitive and autonomic processes. Despite claims that changes in one interoceptive state (arousal) govern primate vocalizations, we know very little about how it influences their likelihood and timing. In this study we investigated the role of arousal during naturally occurring vocal production in marmoset monkeys. Throughout each session, naturally occurring contact calls are produced more quickly, and with greater probability, during higher levels of arousal, as measured by heart rate. On average, we observed a steady increase in heart rate 23 s before the production of a call. Following call production, there is a sharp and steep cardiac deceleration lasting ∼8 s. The dynamics of cardiac fluctuations around a vocalization cannot be completely predicted by the animal's respiration or movement. Moreover, the timing of vocal production was tightly correlated to the phase of a 0.1-Hz autonomic nervous system rhythm known as the Mayer wave. Finally, a compilation of the state space of arousal dynamics during vocalization illustrated that perturbations to the resting state space increase the likelihood of a call occurring. Together, these data suggest that arousal dynamics are critical for spontaneous primate vocal production, not only as a robust predictor of the likelihood of vocal onset but also as scaffolding on which behavior can unfold.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

30

Kantha, Sachi Sri, Hiroki Koda, and Juri Suzuki. "Owl Monkey Vocalizations at the Primate Research Institute, Inuyama." Neotropical Primates 16, no. 1 (June 2009): 43–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1896/044.016.0110.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

31

Maciej, Peter, Julia Fischer, and Kurt Hammerschmidt. "Transmission Characteristics of Primate Vocalizations: Implications for Acoustic Analyses." PLoS ONE 6, no. 8 (August 1, 2011): e23015. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0023015.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

32

Watson, R. "Selectivity for Conspecific Vocalizations within the Primate Insular Cortex." Journal of Neuroscience 29, no. 21 (May 27, 2009): 6769–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.1462-09.2009.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

33

Rakotondrazandry, Jeannin Nicolas, Timothy M. Sefczek, Cynthia L. Frasier, Vicki L. Villanova, Solofonirina Rasoloharijaona, Herimalala Raveloson, and Edward E. Louis, Jr. "Possible Infanticidal Event of an Aye-Aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) in Torotorofotsy, Madagascar." Folia Primatologica 92, no. 3 (2021): 183–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000518006.

Full text

Abstract:

Infanticide occurs in an array of mammalian species, especially primates. Most infanticidal events occur in polygynous societies, though they sometimes happen in nongregarious populations. We witnessed a possible infanticidal event of a 3-month-old male aye-aye, a species that exhibits a dispersed multimale social system, in Torotorofotsy, Madagascar. Though firsthand killing of the infant was not observed, physical injuries to the infant, vocalizations of the adult female, and her subsequent chase of the adult male aye-aye strongly indicates infanticide. If true, this would be the first recorded incident of an infanticidal event in a noyau primate. The evidence for three different explanations of infanticide is evaluated.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

34

Oliveira, Dilmar A. G., and César Ades. "Long-distance calls in Neotropical primates." Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 76, no. 2 (June 2004): 393–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s0001-37652004000200031.

Full text

Abstract:

Long-distance calls are widespread among primates. Several studies concentrate on such calls in just one or in few species, while few studies have treated more general trends within the order. The common features that usually characterize these vocalizations are related to long-distance propagation of sounds. The proposed functions of primate long-distance calls can be divided into extragroup and intragroup ones. Extragroup functions relate to mate defense, mate attraction or resource defense, while intragroup functions involve group coordination or alarm. Among Neotropical primates, several species perform long-distance calls that seem more related to intragroup coordination, markedly in atelines. Callitrichids present long-distance calls that are employed both in intragroup coordination and intergroup contests or spacing. Examples of extragroup directed long-distance calls are the duets of titi monkeys and the roars and barks of howler monkeys. Considerable complexity and gradation exist in the long-distance call repertoires of some Neotropical primates, and female long-distance calls are probably more important in non-duetting species than usually thought. Future research must focus on larger trends in the evolution of primate long-distance calls, including the phylogeny of calling repertoires and the relationships between form and function in these signals.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

35

Nishimura, Takeshi. "Origin of Human Speech and Primate Vocalizations: Paleoanthropology and Bioacoustics." Anthropological Science (Japanese Series) 116, no. 1 (2008): 1–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1537/asj.116.1.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

36

Ferry, A. L., S. J. Hespos, and S. R. Waxman. "Nonhuman primate vocalizations support categorization in very young human infants." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 110, no. 38 (September 3, 2013): 15231–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1221166110.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

37

Gruber, Thibaud, and Didier Grandjean. "A comparative neurological approach to emotional expressions in primate vocalizations." Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 73 (February 2017): 182–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.004.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

38

Cheney, Dorothy L., and Robert M. Seyfarth. "Précis of How monkeys see the world." Behavioral and Brain Sciences 15, no. 1 (March 1992): 135–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x00067911.

Full text

Abstract:

AbstractOur book examines the mechanisms that underlie social behavior and communication in East African vervet monkeys. Our goal is to describe the sophistication of primate intelligence and to probe its limits. We suggest that vervets and other primates make good primatologists. They observe social interactions, recognize the relations that exist among others, and classify relationships into types. Monkeys also use sounds to represent features of their environment and compare different vocalizations according to their meaning. Monkeys may use abstract concepts and have motives, beliefs, and desires, however, their mental states are apparently not accessible: They do not know what they know. In addition, monkeys seem unable to attribute mental states to others: They lack a “theory of mind.” Their inability to. examine their own mental states or to attribute mental states to others severely constrains their ability to transmit information or to deceive one another. It also limits the extent to which their vocalizations can be called semantic. Finally, the skills that monkeys exhibit in social behavior are apparently domain specific. For reasons that are at present unclear, vervets exhibit adaptive specializations in social interactions that are not extended to their interactions with other species (although they should be).

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

39

Feng, Lei, and Xiaoqin Wang. "Harmonic template neurons in primate auditory cortex underlying complex sound processing." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114, no. 5 (January 17, 2017): E840—E848. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607519114.

Full text

Abstract:

Harmonicity is a fundamental element of music, speech, and animal vocalizations. How the auditory system extracts harmonic structures embedded in complex sounds and uses them to form a coherent unitary entity is not fully understood. Despite the prevalence of sounds rich in harmonic structures in our everyday hearing environment, it has remained largely unknown what neural mechanisms are used by the primate auditory cortex to extract these biologically important acoustic structures. In this study, we discovered a unique class of harmonic template neurons in the core region of auditory cortex of a highly vocal New World primate, the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), across the entire hearing frequency range. Marmosets have a rich vocal repertoire and a similar hearing range to that of humans. Responses of these neurons show nonlinear facilitation to harmonic complex sounds over inharmonic sounds, selectivity for particular harmonic structures beyond two-tone combinations, and sensitivity to harmonic number and spectral regularity. Our findings suggest that the harmonic template neurons in auditory cortex may play an important role in processing sounds with harmonic structures, such as animal vocalizations, human speech, and music.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

40

Nishimura, Takeshi, Isao T. Tokuda, Shigehiro Miyachi, Jacob C. Dunn, Christian T. Herbst, Kazuyoshi Ishimura, Akihisa Kaneko, et al. "Evolutionary loss of complexity in human vocal anatomy as an adaptation for speech." Science 377, no. 6607 (August 12, 2022): 760–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abm1574.

Full text

Abstract:

Human speech production obeys the same acoustic principles as vocal production in other animals but has distinctive features: A stable vocal source is filtered by rapidly changing formant frequencies. To understand speech evolution, we examined a wide range of primates, combining observations of phonation with mathematical modeling. We found that source stability relies upon simplifications in laryngeal anatomy, specifically the loss of air sacs and vocal membranes. We conclude that the evolutionary loss of vocal membranes allows human speech to mostly avoid the spontaneous nonlinear phenomena and acoustic chaos common in other primate vocalizations. This loss allows our larynx to produce stable, harmonic-rich phonation, ideally highlighting formant changes that convey most phonetic information. Paradoxically, the increased complexity of human spoken language thus followed simplification of our laryngeal anatomy.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

41

Vaglio, Stefano, Louise Ducroix, Maria Rodriguez Villanueva, Rosanna Consiglio, Ayong Julia Kim, Patrick Neilands, Kerstin Stucky, and Adriano R. Lameira. "Female copulation calls vary with male ejaculation in captive olive baboons." Behaviour 157, no. 8-9 (September 8, 2020): 807–22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-bja10024.

Full text

Abstract:

Abstract Copulation calls are mating-associated vocalizations that are common in primates, with females vocalizing after copulation in several Old World monkeys and apes. Baboon females typically produce copulation calls that correlate with fertile phase. Calls are, thus, regarded as an upshot of cycle physiology and sexually selected calls. Here, we describe three captive troops of olive baboons wherein, against expectation, females suppressed vocalizing during copulations. Vaginal cytology, together with sexual swelling observations, confirmed that females experienced full receptive cycles. Ovulation did not affect vocal probability during sex, while copulation calls were predicted by male ejaculation just as in other Old World primate species. Results cast doubt on the existence of physiological triggers for baboon copulation calls. Social factors may instead play a larger role. Alterations in social structure (as typically observed in the wild) may be implemented strategically as captive enrichment in order to reveal how females in highly social primates change sexual strategies and, therefore, the use of their copulation calls.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

42

Romanski, Lizabeth M., and Bruno B. Averbeck. "The Primate Cortical Auditory System and Neural Representation of Conspecific Vocalizations." Annual Review of Neuroscience 32, no. 1 (June 2009): 315–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.neuro.051508.135431.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

43

Hauser, Marc D. "The role of articulation in the production of nonhuman primate vocalizations." Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 91, no. 4 (April 1992): 2466. http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.403020.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

44

Gursky-Doyen, Sharon. "Acoustic characterization of ultrasonic vocalizations by a nocturnal primate Tarsius syrichta." Primates 54, no. 3 (April 3, 2013): 293–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10329-013-0349-3.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

45

Gouzoules, Harold, Deborah A. Gust, Beth Donaghey, and Elizabeth St Andre. "Estrus Vocalizations in Two Primate Species (Cercocebus Torquatus Atys and Macaca Nemestrina)." Evolution of Communication 2, no. 2 (December 31, 1998): 189–215. http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/eoc.2.2.03gou.

Full text

Abstract:

Vocalizations of sexually receptive females in two primate species, the sooty mangabey (Cercocebus torquatus atys) and the pigtail macaque (Macaca nemestrina), were compared with respect to the acoustical features of calls as well as the reproductive and social factors that were associated with calling behavior. Sixty-two bouts of calling were recorded from 18 different pigtail macaque females (mean number of bouts per individual-3.48, SD = 2.17, range 1-7) over a six month period; 19.4% occurred during copulation with males, 25.8% were recorded within 30 seconds after copulation has ceased, while the majority, 54.8%, were not associated with mating. The mangabey group yielded 52 bouts from 18 different females (mean number of bouts per individual = 2.89, SD = 2.47, range 1-10) over a comparable period of time; all 52 mangabey bouts were recorded from females during copulation with males. Calls in both species were highly stereotyped and were not acoustically similar to other vocalizations in the species' repertoire; the acoustical structure of the calls of both species, with most energy distributed at relatively low frequencies, suggests adaptations for propagation over distance. Dominance rank of the caller was associated with significant variation in calling by estrus females of both species. There was a strong relationship between rank and bout length in the pigtail females, with higher-ranking females having shorter bouts; the rate of delivery for higher-ranking females was also significantly more variable than it was for lower-ranking females. For the mangabeys, lower-ranking females had significantly higher rates of delivery than did higher-ranking ones. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that these features of calling relate to a caller's motivational state and that higher levels of sexual motivation are required by lower-ranking females before they show proceptive behavior or mating. The possibility that female-female competition may have a significant effect on important features of calling should be considered in studies that attempt to evaluate the functional significance of these vocalizations.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

46

Clink, Dena J., and Allison R. Lau. "Adherence to Menzerath's Law is the exception (not the rule) in three duetting primate species." Royal Society Open Science 7, no. 11 (November 2020): 201557. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201557.

Full text

Abstract:

Across diverse systems including language, music and genomes, there is a tendency for longer sequences to contain shorter constituents; this phenomenon is known as Menzerath's Law. Whether Menzerath's Law is a universal in biological systems, is the result of compression (wherein shortest possible strings represent the maximum amount of information) or emerges from an inevitable relationship between sequence and constituent length remains a topic of debate. In non-human primates, the vocalizations of geladas, male gibbons and chimpanzees exhibit patterns consistent with Menzerath's Law. Here, we use existing datasets of three duetting primate species (tarsiers, titi monkeys and gibbons) to examine the wide-scale applicability of Menzerath's Law. Primate duets provide a useful comparative model to test for the broad-scale applicability of Menzerath's Law, as they evolved independently under presumably similar selection pressures and are emitted under the same context(s) across taxa. Only four out of the eight call types we examined were consistent with Menzerath's Law. Two of these call types exhibited a negative relationship between the position of the note in the call and note duration, indicating that adherence to Menzerath's Law in these call types may be related to breathing constraints. Exceptions to Menzerath's Law occur when notes are relatively homogeneous, or when species-specific call structure leads to a deterministic decrease in note duration. We show that adherence to Menzerath's Law is the exception rather than the rule in duetting primates. It is possible that selection pressures for long-range signals that can travel effectively over large distances was stronger than that of compression in primate duets. Future studies investigating adherence to Menzerath's Law across the vocal repertoires of these species will help us better elucidate the pressures that shape both short- and long-distance acoustic signals.

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

47

Hauser, Marc D. "A Primate Dictionary? Decoding the Function and Meaning of Another Species' Vocalizations." Cognitive Science 24, no. 3 (September 2000): 445–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog2403_5.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

48

Weerts, E. M., K. A. Miczek, and K. A. Miczek. "Primate vocalizations during social separation and aggression: effects of alcohol and benzodiazepines." Psychopharmacology 127, no. 3 (October 1996): 255–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf02246134.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

49

Weerts, E. M., and K. A. Miczek. "Primate vocalizations during social separation and aggression: effects of alcohol and benzodiazepines." Psychopharmacology 127, no. 3 (October 11, 1996): 255–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002130050084.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

50

Gavrilov, Natalja, Steffen R. Hage, and Andreas Nieder. "Functional Specialization of the Primate Frontal Lobe during Cognitive Control of Vocalizations." Cell Reports 21, no. 9 (November 2017): 2393–406. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2017.10.107.

Full text

APA, Harvard, Vancouver, ISO, and other styles

Journal articles on the topic 'Primate vocalizations'

Create a spot-on reference in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other styles