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Becker Y, Phelipon R, Marie D, Bouziane S, Marchetti R, Sein J, Velly L, Renaud L, Cermolacce A, Anton JL, Nazarian B, Coulon O, Meguerditchian A. Planum temporale asymmetry in newborn monkeys predicts the future development of gestural communication's handedness. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4791. [PMID: 38839754 PMCID: PMC11153489 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47277-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The planum temporale (PT), a key language area, is specialized in the left hemisphere in prelinguistic infants and considered as a marker of the pre-wired language-ready brain. However, studies have reported a similar structural PT left-asymmetry not only in various adult non-human primates, but also in newborn baboons. Its shared functional links with language are not fully understood. Here we demonstrate using previously obtained MRI data that early detection of PT left-asymmetry among 27 newborn baboons (Papio anubis, age range of 4 days to 2 months) predicts the future development of right-hand preference for communicative gestures but not for non-communicative actions. Specifically, only newborns with a larger left-than-right PT were more likely to develop a right-handed communication once juvenile, a contralateral brain-gesture link which is maintained in a group of 70 mature baboons. This finding suggests that early PT asymmetry may be a common inherited prewiring of the primate brain for the ontogeny of ancient lateralised properties shared between monkey gesture and human language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannick Becker
- LPC UMR7290 & CRPN UMR7077 Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Romane Phelipon
- LPC UMR7290 & CRPN UMR7077 Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Damien Marie
- LPC UMR7290 & CRPN UMR7077 Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Siham Bouziane
- LPC UMR7290 & CRPN UMR7077 Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Rebecca Marchetti
- LPC UMR7290 & CRPN UMR7077 Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Julien Sein
- INT, UMR7289, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Lionel Velly
- INT, UMR7289, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Luc Renaud
- INT, UMR7289, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | | | - Jean-Luc Anton
- INT, UMR7289, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Nazarian
- INT, UMR7289, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Olivier Coulon
- INT, UMR7289, Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France
| | - Adrien Meguerditchian
- LPC UMR7290 & CRPN UMR7077 Aix-Marseille Univ, CNRS, Marseille, France.
- Station de Primatologie UAR 846, CNRS, CELPHEDIA, Rousset, France.
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2
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Eleuteri V, Bates L, Rendle-Worthington J, Hobaiter C, Stoeger A. Multimodal communication and audience directedness in the greeting behaviour of semi-captive African savannah elephants. Commun Biol 2024; 7:472. [PMID: 38724671 PMCID: PMC11082179 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06133-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Many species communicate by combining signals into multimodal combinations. Elephants live in multi-level societies where individuals regularly separate and reunite. Upon reunion, elephants often engage in elaborate greeting rituals, where they use vocalisations and body acts produced with different body parts and of various sensory modalities (e.g., audible, tactile). However, whether these body acts represent communicative gestures and whether elephants combine vocalisations and gestures during greeting is still unknown. Here we use separation-reunion events to explore the greeting behaviour of semi-captive elephants (Loxodonta africana). We investigate whether elephants use silent-visual, audible, and tactile gestures directing them at their audience based on their state of visual attention and how they combine these gestures with vocalisations during greeting. We show that elephants select gesture modality appropriately according to their audience's visual attention, suggesting evidence of first-order intentional communicative use. We further show that elephants integrate vocalisations and gestures into different combinations and orders. The most frequent combination consists of rumble vocalisations with ear-flapping gestures, used most often between females. By showing that a species evolutionarily distant to our own primate lineage shows sensitivity to their audience's visual attention in their gesturing and combines gestures with vocalisations, our study advances our understanding of the emergence of first-order intentionality and multimodal communication across taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vesta Eleuteri
- Department of Behavioral & Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Lucy Bates
- Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
| | | | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
| | - Angela Stoeger
- Department of Behavioral & Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Acoustic Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
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3
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Dafreville M, Guidetti M, Bourjade M. Attention-sensitive signalling by 7- to 20-month-old infants in a comparative perspective. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1257324. [PMID: 38562240 PMCID: PMC10982422 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1257324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Attention-sensitive signalling is the pragmatic skill of signallers who adjust the modality of their communicative signals to their recipient's attention state. This study provides the first comprehensive evidence for its onset and development in 7-to 20-month-olds human infants, and underlines its significance for language acquisition and evolutionary history. Mother-infant dyads (N = 30) were studied in naturalistic settings, sampled according to three developmental periods (in months); [7-10], [11-14], and [15-20]. Infant's signals were classified by dominant perceptible sensory modality and proportions compared according to their mother's visual attention, infant-directed speech and tactile contact. Maternal visual attention and infant-directed speech were influential on the onset and steepness of infants' communicative adjustments. The ability to inhibit silent-visual signals towards visually inattentive mothers (unimodal adjustment) predated the ability to deploy audible-or-contact signals in this case (cross-modal adjustment). Maternal scaffolding of infant's early pragmatic skills through her infant-directed speech operates on the facilitation of infant's unimodal adjustment, the preference for oral over gestural signals, and the audio-visual combinations of signals. Additionally, breakdowns in maternal visual attention are associated with increased use of the audible-oral modality/channel. The evolutionary role of the sharing of attentional resources between parents and infants into the emergence of modern language is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Marie Bourjade
- CLLE, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
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4
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Villa-Larenas F, Llorente M, Liebal K, Amici F. Gestural communication in wild spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). Anim Cogn 2024; 27:18. [PMID: 38429467 PMCID: PMC10907450 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01854-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Gestures play a central role in the communication systems of several animal families, including primates. In this study, we provide a first assessment of the gestural systems of a Platyrrhine species, Geoffroy's spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). We observed a wild group of 52 spider monkeys and assessed the distribution of visual and tactile gestures in the group, the size of individual repertoires and the intentionality and effectiveness of individuals' gestural production. Our results showed that younger spider monkeys were more likely than older ones to use tactile gestures. In contrast, we found no inter-individual differences in the probability of producing visual gestures. Repertoire size did not vary with age, but the probability of accounting for recipients' attentional state was higher for older monkeys than for younger ones, especially for gestures in the visual modality. Using vocalizations right before the gesture increased the probability of gesturing towards attentive recipients and of receiving a response, although age had no effect on the probability of gestures being responded. Overall, our study provides first evidence of gestural production in a Platyrrhine species, and confirms this taxon as a valid candidate for research on animal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Miquel Llorente
- Fundació UdG: Innovació I Formació, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain
- Departament de Psicologia, Facultat d'Educació I Psicologia, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain
| | - Katja Liebal
- Human Biology and Primate Cognition, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Science, Leipzig University, Talstraße 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Federica Amici
- Human Biology and Primate Cognition, Institute of Biology, Faculty of Life Science, Leipzig University, Talstraße 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
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5
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Richard JT, Pellegrini I, Levine R. Belugas (Delphinapterus leucas) create facial displays during social interactions by changing the shape of their melons. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:7. [PMID: 38429515 PMCID: PMC10907495 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01843-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Beluga whales are considered unique among odontocetes in their ability to visibly alter the appearance of their head by changing the shape of the melon, but only anecdotal observations are available to evaluate the use or potential function of these melon shapes. This study of belugas in professionally managed care aimed to establish an ethogram for the repertoire of categorizable melon shapes and then evaluate their potential function as intentional communication signals by determining if they were produced and elaborated during social interactions of varying behavioral contexts while in the line of sight of a recipient. Five different melon shapes were reliably identified in video observations of the primary study population (n = 4) and externally validated in a second aquarium population (n = 51). Among the 2570 melon shapes observed from the primary study subjects, melon shapes occurred 34 × more frequently during social interactions (1.72 per minute) than outside of social interactions (0.05 per minute). Melon shapes occurring during social interactions were performed within the line of sight of a recipient 93.6% of the time. The frequency of occurrence of the different melon shapes varied across behavioral contexts. Elaboration of melon shapes through extended duration and the occurrence of concurrent open mouth displays varied by shape type and across behavioral contexts. Melon shapes seem to function as visual displays, with some characteristics of intentional communication. This ability could yield adaptive benefits to belugas, given their complex social structure and hypothesized mating system that emphasizes pre-copulatory female mate choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin T Richard
- Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA.
| | - Isabelle Pellegrini
- Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA
| | - Rachael Levine
- Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA
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6
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Grund C, Badihi G, Graham KE, Safryghin A, Hobaiter C. GesturalOrigins: A bottom-up framework for establishing systematic gesture data across ape species. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:986-1001. [PMID: 36922450 PMCID: PMC10830607 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02082-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023]
Abstract
Current methodologies present significant hurdles to understanding patterns in the gestural communication of individuals, populations, and species. To address this issue, we present a bottom-up data collection framework for the study of gesture: GesturalOrigins. By "bottom-up", we mean that we minimise a priori structural choices, allowing researchers to define larger concepts (such as 'gesture types', 'response latencies', or 'gesture sequences') flexibly once coding is complete. Data can easily be re-organised to provide replication of, and comparison with, a wide range of datasets in published and planned analyses. We present packages, templates, and instructions for the complete data collection and coding process. We illustrate the flexibility that our methodological tool offers with worked examples of (great ape) gestural communication, demonstrating differences in the duration of action phases across distinct gesture action types and showing how species variation in the latency to respond to gestural requests may be revealed or masked by methodological choices. While GesturalOrigins is built from an ape-centred perspective, the basic framework can be adapted across a range of species and potentially to other communication systems. By making our gesture coding methods transparent and open access, we hope to enable a more direct comparison of findings across research groups, improve collaborations, and advance the field to tackle some of the long-standing questions in comparative gesture research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Grund
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JP, UK.
| | - Gal Badihi
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Kirsty E Graham
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Alexandra Safryghin
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JP, UK
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 9JP, UK
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Hickok G, Venezia J, Teghipco A. Beyond Broca: neural architecture and evolution of a dual motor speech coordination system. Brain 2023; 146:1775-1790. [PMID: 36746488 PMCID: PMC10411947 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Classical neural architecture models of speech production propose a single system centred on Broca's area coordinating all the vocal articulators from lips to larynx. Modern evidence has challenged both the idea that Broca's area is involved in motor speech coordination and that there is only one coordination network. Drawing on a wide range of evidence, here we propose a dual speech coordination model in which laryngeal control of pitch-related aspects of prosody and song are coordinated by a hierarchically organized dorsolateral system while supralaryngeal articulation at the phonetic/syllabic level is coordinated by a more ventral system posterior to Broca's area. We argue further that these two speech production subsystems have distinguishable evolutionary histories and discuss the implications for models of language evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory Hickok
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
- Department of Language Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Jonathan Venezia
- Auditory Research Laboratory, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System, Loma Linda, CA 92357, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA
| | - Alex Teghipco
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
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Bourjade M, Dafreville M, Scola C, Jover M. Six-month-old infants' communication in a comparative perspective: Do maternal attention and interaction matter? J Exp Child Psychol 2023; 231:105651. [PMID: 36842316 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
Abstract
Developmental precursors of the prelinguistic transition from gestures to word use can be found in the early pragmatic usage of auditory and visual signals across contexts. This study examined whether 6-month-old infants are capable of attention-sensitive communication with their mother, that is, adjusting the sensory modality of their communicative signals to their mother's attention. Proxies of maternal attention implemented in experimental conditions were the mother's visual attention (attentive/inattentive), interaction directed at the infant (interactive/non-interactive), and distance (far/close). The infants' signals were coded as either visual or auditory, following an ethological coding. Infants adjusted the sensory modality of their communicative signals mostly to maternal interaction. More auditory signals were produced when the mother was non-interactive than when she was interactive. Interactive conditions were characterized by higher rates of visual signaling and of gaze-coordinated non-vocal oral sounds. The more time infants spent looking at their attentive mother, the more they produced auditory signals, specifically non-vocal oral sounds. These findings are discussed within the articulated frameworks of evolutionary developmental psychology and early pragmatics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Bourjade
- Cognition Langues Langage Ergonomie (CLLE), Université de Toulouse, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 31058 Toulouse, France; Institut Universitaire de France, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Mawa Dafreville
- Cognition Langues Langage Ergonomie (CLLE), Université de Toulouse, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 31058 Toulouse, France
| | - Céline Scola
- Aix Marseille Université, Centre de Recherche en Psychologie de la Connaissance, du Langage et de l'Émotion (PSYCLE), EA 3273, 13621 Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Marianne Jover
- Aix Marseille Université, Centre de Recherche en Psychologie de la Connaissance, du Langage et de l'Émotion (PSYCLE), EA 3273, 13621 Aix-en-Provence, France
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9
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Williams E, Carter A, Rendle J, Fontani S, Walsh ND, Armstrong S, Hickman S, Vaglio S, Ward SJ. The Impact of COVID-19 Zoo Closures on Behavioural and Physiological Parameters of Welfare in Primates. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12131622. [PMID: 35804521 PMCID: PMC9265073 DOI: 10.3390/ani12131622] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Primates are some of the most cognitively advanced species held in zoos, and their interactions with visitors are complex. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to understand the impact of zoo visitors on animals, in comparison to “empty zoos”. This study sought to understand the impact of facility closures and subsequent reopenings on behavioural and physiological parameters of welfare in four primate species housed in the UK: bonobos (Pan paniscus) (n = 8), chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) (n = 11), and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) (n = 6) held at Twycross Zoo (TZ); and olive baboons (Papio anubis) (n = 192) held at Knowsley Safari (KS). Behavioural data were collected from April–September 2020 (KS) and November 2020–January 2021 (TZ). Faecal samples were collected during morning checks from October–November (TZ) and July–November 2020 (KS). Faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs) were measured using ELISA kits. Statistical analysis for behavioural observations was undertaken using general linear models. Enclosure usage was assessed using t-tests and Mann–Whitney U-tests as appropriate. Bonobos and gorillas spent less time alone when facilities were open to the public (p = 0.004, p = 0.02 respectively). Gorillas spent less time resting when the facility was open to the public (p = 0.04), and chimpanzees engaged in more feeding (p = 0.02) and engagement with enrichment (p = 0.03) when the zoo was open to the public than when it was closed. Olive baboons performed less sexual and dominance behaviour and approached visitor cars more frequently when the safari park was opened to the public than they did the ranger’s vehicle during closure periods. There were no significant changes in physiological parameters for any of the study species. The results suggest variable impacts of the zoo closures on zoo-housed primates. We recommend future work that seeks to understand the impact of individual-level differences on “visitor effects” and that differences between animal experiences in zoos and safari parks are further explored in a range of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen Williams
- School of Animal, Rural & Environmental Sciences, Brackenhurst Campus, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell NG25 0QF, Nottinghamshire, UK; (A.C.); (S.J.W.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Anne Carter
- School of Animal, Rural & Environmental Sciences, Brackenhurst Campus, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell NG25 0QF, Nottinghamshire, UK; (A.C.); (S.J.W.)
| | - Jessica Rendle
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, Leicestershire, UK;
- Conservation Medicine, College of Science Health, Education and Engineering, Murdoch University, Perth 6150, Australia
- Twycross Zoo, Atherstone CV9 3PX, Warwickshire, UK
| | - Sara Fontani
- School of Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, West Midlands, UK; (S.F.); (S.H.); (S.V.)
| | | | - Sarah Armstrong
- Knowsley Safari, Prescot L34 4AN, Merseyside, UK; (N.D.W.); (S.A.)
| | - Sarah Hickman
- School of Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, West Midlands, UK; (S.F.); (S.H.); (S.V.)
| | - Stefano Vaglio
- School of Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, West Midlands, UK; (S.F.); (S.H.); (S.V.)
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Research (BEER) Centre, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, County Durham, UK
| | - Samantha J. Ward
- School of Animal, Rural & Environmental Sciences, Brackenhurst Campus, Nottingham Trent University, Southwell NG25 0QF, Nottinghamshire, UK; (A.C.); (S.J.W.)
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Structural Brain Asymmetries for Language: A Comparative Approach across Primates. Symmetry (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/sym14050876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are the only species that can speak. Nonhuman primates, however, share some ‘domain-general’ cognitive properties that are essential to language processes. Whether these shared cognitive properties between humans and nonhuman primates are the results of a continuous evolution [homologies] or of a convergent evolution [analogies] remain difficult to demonstrate. However, comparing their respective underlying structure—the brain—to determinate their similarity or their divergence across species is critical to help increase the probability of either of the two hypotheses, respectively. Key areas associated with language processes are the Planum Temporale, Broca’s Area, the Arcuate Fasciculus, Cingulate Sulcus, The Insula, Superior Temporal Sulcus, the Inferior Parietal lobe, and the Central Sulcus. These structures share a fundamental feature: They are functionally and structurally specialised to one hemisphere. Interestingly, several nonhuman primate species, such as chimpanzees and baboons, show human-like structural brain asymmetries for areas homologous to key language regions. The question then arises: for what function did these asymmetries arise in non-linguistic primates, if not for language per se? In an attempt to provide some answers, we review the literature on the lateralisation of the gestural communication system, which may represent the missing behavioural link to brain asymmetries for language area’s homologues in our common ancestor.
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11
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Schel AM, Bono A, Aychet J, Pika S, Lemasson A. Intentional gestural communication amongst red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus). Anim Cogn 2022; 25:1313-1330. [PMID: 35362785 PMCID: PMC9617956 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-022-01615-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2020] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Apes, human’s closest living relatives, are renowned for their intentional and highly flexible use of gestural communication. In stark contrast, evidence for flexible and intentional gestural communication in monkeys is scarce. Here, we investigated the intentionality and flexibility of spontaneous gesture use in red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus). We applied established methods used in ape gesture research to analyse whether the body acts produced by a total of 17 individuals living in three different groups in captivity qualified as intentionally produced gesture instances. Results showed that signallers showed all hallmarks of intentionality during the production of 20 out of a total of 21 different types of body acts. These were only produced in the presence of other individuals, and the monkeys showed audience checking, sensitivity to the attentional states of recipients, adjustment of signal modality, and response waiting relative to their production. Moreover, in case of communication failure, the monkeys showed goal persistence, and regarding the production contexts they showed some signs of means–ends dissociation. Therefore, these monkeys are capable of flexible and intentional gestural communication and use this to communicate with conspecifics. Our results corroborate recent findings showing that intentional gestural communication was already present in the monkey lineage of catarrhine primates. We discuss our results in light of the comparative approach towards human language evolution and highlight our finding that these monkeys also showed flexible and intentional use of four ‘free’ manual gesture types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Marijke Schel
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - Axelle Bono
- Université de Rennes, Normandie Université, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine), UMR 6552, 35000, Rennes, France
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Universite de Lausanne, Biophore, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Juliette Aychet
- Université de Rennes, Normandie Université, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine), UMR 6552, 35000, Rennes, France
| | - Simone Pika
- Comparative BioCognition, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück, 49076, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Alban Lemasson
- Université de Rennes, Normandie Université, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine), UMR 6552, 35000, Rennes, France
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12
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Meguerditchian A. On the gestural origins of language: what baboons’ gestures and brain have told us after 15 years of research. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2022.2044388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adrien Meguerditchian
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive (LPC) UMR7290, CNRS, Aix-Marseille Université, Institut Language, Communication and the Brain (ILCB), Marseille, France
- Station de Primatologie UAR846, CNRS-CELPHEDIA, Rousset, France
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13
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Becker Y, Claidière N, Margiotoudi K, Marie D, Roth M, Nazarian B, Anton JL, Coulon O, Meguerditchian A. Broca area homologue's asymmetry reflects gestural communication lateralisation in monkeys (Papio anubis). eLife 2022; 11:70521. [PMID: 35108197 PMCID: PMC8846582 DOI: 10.7554/elife.70521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Manual gestures and speech recruit a common neural network, involving Broca’s area in the left hemisphere. Such speech-gesture integration gave rise to theories on the critical role of manual gesturing in the origin of language. Within this evolutionary framework, research on gestural communication in our closer primate relatives has received renewed attention for investigating its potential language-like features. Here, using in vivo anatomical MRI in 50 baboons, we found that communicative gesturing is related to Broca homologue’s marker in monkeys, namely the ventral portion of the Inferior Arcuate sulcus (IA sulcus). In fact, both direction and degree of gestural communication’s handedness – but not handedness for object manipulation are associated and correlated with contralateral depth asymmetry at this exact IA sulcus portion. In other words, baboons that prefer to communicate with their right hand have a deeper left-than-right IA sulcus, than those preferring to communicate with their left hand and vice versa. Interestingly, in contrast to handedness for object manipulation, gestural communication’s lateralisation is not associated to the Central sulcus depth asymmetry, suggesting a double dissociation of handedness’ types between manipulative action and gestural communication. It is thus not excluded that this specific gestural lateralisation signature within the baboons’ frontal cortex might reflect a phylogenetical continuity with language-related Broca lateralisation in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannick Becker
- UMR7290, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Nicolas Claidière
- UMR7290, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Konstantina Margiotoudi
- UMR7290, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Damien Marie
- UMR7290, Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Muriel Roth
- Centre IRMf Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Bruno Nazarian
- Centre IRM Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Jean-Luc Anton
- Centre IRM Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Olivier Coulon
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | - Adrien Meguerditchian
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, CNRS, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
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14
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Limb Preference in Animals: New Insights into the Evolution of Manual Laterality in Hominids. Symmetry (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/sym14010096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Until the 1990s, the notion of brain lateralization—the division of labor between the two hemispheres—and its more visible behavioral manifestation, handedness, remained fiercely defined as a human specific trait. Since then, many studies have evidenced lateralized functions in a wide range of species, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In this review, we highlight the great contribution of comparative research to the understanding of human handedness’ evolutionary and developmental pathways, by distinguishing animal forelimb asymmetries for functionally different actions—i.e., potentially depending on different hemispheric specializations. Firstly, lateralization for the manipulation of inanimate objects has been associated with genetic and ontogenetic factors, with specific brain regions’ activity, and with morphological limb specializations. These could have emerged under selective pressures notably related to the animal locomotion and social styles. Secondly, lateralization for actions directed to living targets (to self or conspecifics) seems to be in relationship with the brain lateralization for emotion processing. Thirdly, findings on primates’ hand preferences for communicative gestures accounts for a link between gestural laterality and a left-hemispheric specialization for intentional communication and language. Throughout this review, we highlight the value of functional neuroimaging and developmental approaches to shed light on the mechanisms underlying human handedness.
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15
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Measuring behavioral coping style and stress reactivity experimentally in wild olive baboons. Behav Processes 2021; 195:104564. [PMID: 34915059 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Many nonhuman animals have been used as subjects to elucidate intra-individual variation in the stress response - understood via coping styles and stress reactivity. Given the evidence and theory supporting evolutionary trade-offs associated with such differences, it is surprising, then, how few studies have used wild nonhuman primates to develop this theoretical framework. In the current study, we evaluated this framework using a combination of behaviours from focal follows and an experimental method, novel to the field - collected during a 17 month project on olive baboons (Papio anubis) in Laikipia, Kenya. Our experimental design simultaneously introduces a risk with an incentive: a model snake with a real chicken egg, respectively. Such an approach facilitates multiple solutions to a stressor, a key element of coping style theory. General behavioral tendencies did not associate with the experimental measures of coping style and stress reactivity. These results, however, demonstrated the utility and validity of this experimental approach for measuring coping style and stress reactivity in wild nonhumans. Fear grimaces represented stress reactivity. A factor solution represented coping style - summarizing decision making under stress. The treatment experiment, with a snake and egg, elicited a behavioral stress response, relative to control trials with just an egg.
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16
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17
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Dafreville M, Hobaiter C, Guidetti M, Sillam-Dussès D, Bourjade M. Sensitivity to the communicative partner's attentional state: A developmental study on mother-infant dyads in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23339. [PMID: 34633101 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Gestural communication permeates all domains of chimpanzees' social life and is intentional in use. However, we still have only limited information on how young apes develop the sociocognitive skills needed for intentional communication. In this cross-sectional study, we document the development of behavioral adjustment to the recipient's visual attention-considered a hallmark of intentional communication-in wild immature chimpanzees' gestural communication. We studied 11 immature chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii): three infants, four juveniles, and four adolescents gesturing towards their mother. We quantified silent-visual, audible, and contact gestures indexed to maternal visual attention and inattention. We investigated unimodal adjustment, defined by the capacity of young chimpanzees to deploy fewer silent-visual signals when their mothers did not show full visual attention towards them as compared with when they did. We then examined cross-modal adjustment, defined as the capacity of chimpanzees to deploy more audible-or-contact gestures than silent-visual gestures in the condition where their mothers did not show full visual attention as compared to when they did. Our results show a gradual decline in the use of silent-visual gestures when the mother is not visually attentive with increasing age. The absence of silent-visual gesture production toward a visually inattentive recipient (complete unimodal adjustment) was not fully in place until adolescence. Immature chimpanzees used more audible-or-contact gestures than silent-visual ones when their mothers did not show visual attention and vice-versa when they did. This cross-modal adjustment was expressed in juveniles and adolescents but not in infants. Overall, this study shows that infant chimpanzees were limited in their sensitivity to maternal attention when gesturing, whereas adolescent chimpanzees adjusted their communication appropriately. Juveniles present an intermediate pattern with cross-modal adjustment preceding unimodal adjustment and with variability in the age of onset.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Catherine Hobaiter
- Origins of Mind, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Scotland
| | | | - David Sillam-Dussès
- Laboratoire d'Ethologie Expérimentale et Comparée UR 4443, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Villetaneuse, France
| | - Marie Bourjade
- CLLE, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
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18
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Florkiewicz B, Campbell M. Chimpanzee facial gestures and the implications for the evolution of language. PeerJ 2021. [DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Great ape manual gestures are described as communicative, flexible, intentional, and goal-oriented. These gestures are thought to be an evolutionary pre-cursor to human language. Conversely, facial expressions are thought to be inflexible, automatic, and derived from emotion. However, great apes can make a wide range of movements with their faces, and they may possess the control needed to gesture with their faces as well as their hands. We examined whether chimpanzee facial expressions possess the four important gesture properties and how they compare to manual gestures. To do this, we quantified variables that have been previously described through largely qualitative means. Chimpanzee facial expressions met all four gesture criteria and performed remarkably similar to manual gestures. Facial gestures have implications for the evolution of language. If other mammals also show facial gestures, then the gestural origins of language may be much older than the human/great ape lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany Florkiewicz
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Matthew Campbell
- Department of Psychology, California State University, Channel Islands, Camarillo, CA, United States of America
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19
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Bourjade M, Cochet H, Molesti S, Guidetti M. Is Conceptual Diversity an Advantage for Scientific Inquiry? A Case Study on the Concept of 'Gesture' in Comparative Psychology. Integr Psychol Behav Sci 2021; 54:805-832. [PMID: 32207081 DOI: 10.1007/s12124-020-09516-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Growing scientific fields often involve multidisciplinary investigations in which the same concepts may have different meanings. Here, we examine the case of 'gesture' in comparative research to depict how conceptual diversity hidden by the label 'gesture' can lead to consistently divergent interpretations in humans and nonhuman primates. We show that definitions of 'gesture' drastically differ regarding the forms of a gesture and the cognitive processes inferred from it, and that these differences emerge from implicit assumptions which have pervasive consequences on the interpretations claimed by researchers. We then demonstrate that implicit assumptions about scientific concepts can be made explicit using a finite set of operational criteria. We argue that developing theoretical definitions systematically associated with operational conceptual boundaries would allow to tackle both the challenges of maintaining high internal coherence within studies and of improving comparability and replicability of scientific results. We thus offer an easy-to-implement conceptual tool that should help ground valid comparisons between studies and serve scientific inquiry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Bourjade
- CLLE - Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, 31058, France.
| | - Hélène Cochet
- CLLE - Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, 31058, France
| | - Sandra Molesti
- CLLE - Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, 31058, France
- PSYCLE EA3273, Aix-Marseille Université, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Michèle Guidetti
- CLLE - Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, 31058, France
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20
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Becker Y, Phelipon R, Sein J, Velly L, Renaud L, Meguerditchian A. Planum temporale grey matter volume asymmetries in newborn monkeys (Papio anubis). Brain Struct Funct 2021; 227:463-468. [PMID: 33937939 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02278-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/10/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The Planum temporale (PT) is one of the key hubs of the language network in the human brain. The gross asymmetry of this perisylvian region toward the left brain was considered as the most emblematic marker of hemispheric specialization of language processes in the brain. Interestingly, this neuroanatomical signature was documented also in newborn infants and preterms, suggesting the early brain's readiness for language acquisition. Nevertheless, this latter interpretation was questioned by a recent report in non-human primates of a potential similar signature in newborn baboons Papio anubis based on PT surface measures. Whether this "tip of the iceberg" PT asymmetry is actually reflecting asymmetry of its underlying grey matter volume remains unclear but critical to investigate potential continuities of cortical specialization with human infants. Here we report a population-level leftward asymmetry of the PT grey matter volume in in vivo 34 newborn baboons P. anubis, which showed intra-individual positive correlation with PT surface's asymmetry measures but also a more pronounced degree of leftward asymmetry at the population level. This finding demonstrates that PT leftward structural asymmetry in this Old World monkey species is a robust phenomenon in early primate development, which clearly speaks for a continuity with early human brain specialization. Results also strengthen the hypothesis that early PT asymmetry might be not a human-specific marker for the pre-wired language-ready brain in infants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yannick Becker
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR 7290, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13331, Marseille, France.,Institut des Neurosciences de La Timone, UMR 7289, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Romane Phelipon
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR 7290, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13331, Marseille, France
| | - Julien Sein
- Institut des Neurosciences de La Timone, UMR 7289, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Lionel Velly
- Institut des Neurosciences de La Timone, UMR 7289, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Luc Renaud
- Institut des Neurosciences de La Timone, UMR 7289, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13005, Marseille, France
| | - Adrien Meguerditchian
- Laboratoire de Psychologie Cognitive, UMR 7290, Université Aix-Marseille/CNRS, 13331, Marseille, France. .,Station de Primatologie, UPS846, CNRS, 13790, Rousset, France.
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Red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus) adapt their interspecific gestural communication to the recipient's behaviour. Sci Rep 2020; 10:12843. [PMID: 32732945 PMCID: PMC7393380 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69847-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensitivity to recipient’s attention and responsiveness are critical markers of intentional communication. Although previous research showed that ape gestures can be intentional, few studies have yet addressed this question concerning monkeys. Here, we characterise the effect of a recipient’s presence, attentional state and responsiveness on the interspecific gestural communication of captive red-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus). Previous reports showed that they produced learnt begging gestures towards a human recipient preferentially when the latter was facing them. We used here a novel setup that allows subjects to move around an experimenter and to use different modalities (visual and acoustic) to communicate. We found that when the recipient was not facing them, mangabeys moved to a position in the visual field of their recipient rather than using attention-getters. Interestingly, unlike apes, they did not elaborate their communication visually or acoustically when the experimenter did not respond favourably to their begging. However, our results may suggest that begging gestures were goal-directed, since mangabeys inhibited them when the experimenter was not available to answer immediately (i.e. give a reward). Overall, red-capped mangabeys’ interspecific visual communication presented intentionality features, but their use of begging gestures was less flexible than that of great apes in similar situations.
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22
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Prieur J, Barbu S, Blois‐Heulin C, Lemasson A. The origins of gestures and language: history, current advances and proposed theories. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 95:531-554. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2019] [Revised: 11/30/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacques Prieur
- Department of Education and PsychologyComparative Developmental Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin Berlin Germany
- Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Ethologie animale et humaine) – UMR 6552 F‐35380 Paimpont France
| | - Stéphanie Barbu
- Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Ethologie animale et humaine) – UMR 6552 F‐35380 Paimpont France
| | - Catherine Blois‐Heulin
- Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Ethologie animale et humaine) – UMR 6552 F‐35380 Paimpont France
| | - Alban Lemasson
- Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Ethologie animale et humaine) – UMR 6552 F‐35380 Paimpont France
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