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Taheri A. The partial upward migration of the laryngeal motor cortex: A window to the human brain evolution. Brain Res 2024; 1834:148892. [PMID: 38554798 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2024.148892] [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] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Revised: 03/16/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024]
Abstract
The pioneer cortical electrical stimulation studies of the last century did not explicitly mark the location of the human laryngeal motor cortex (LMC), but only the "vocalization area" in the lower half of the lateral motor cortex. In the final years of 2010́s, neuroimaging studies did demonstrate two human cortical laryngeal representations, located at the opposing ends of the orofacial motor zone, therefore termed dorsal (LMCd) and ventral laryngeal motor cortex (LMCv). Since then, there has been a continuing debate regarding the origin, function and evolutionary significance of these areas. The "local duplication model" posits that the LMCd evolved by a duplication of an adjacent region of the motor cortex. The "duplication and migration model" assumes that the dorsal LMCd arose by a duplication of motor regions related to vocalization, such as the ancestry LMC, followed by a migration into the orofacial region of the motor cortex. This paper reviews the basic arguments of these viewpoints and suggests a new explanation, declaring that the LMCd in man is rather induced through the division of the unitary LMC in nonhuman primates, upward shift and relocation of its motor part due to the disproportional growth of the head, face, mouth, lips, and tongue motor areas in the ventral part of the human motor homunculus. This explanation may be called "expansion-division and relocation model".
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Affiliation(s)
- Abbas Taheri
- Neuroscience Razi, Berlin, Germany; Former Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
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2
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Castellucci GA, Kovach CK, Tabasi F, Christianson D, Greenlee JDW, Long MA. Stimulation of caudal inferior and middle frontal gyri disrupts planning during spoken interaction. Curr Biol 2024; 34:2719-2727.e5. [PMID: 38823382 PMCID: PMC11187660 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.04.080] [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: 01/20/2024] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024]
Abstract
Turn-taking is a central feature of conversation across languages and cultures.1,2,3,4 This key social behavior requires numerous sensorimotor and cognitive operations1,5,6 that can be organized into three general phases: comprehension of a partner's turn, preparation of a speaker's own turn, and execution of that turn. Using intracranial electrocorticography, we recently demonstrated that neural activity related to these phases is functionally distinct during turn-taking.7 In particular, networks active during the perceptual and articulatory stages of turn-taking consisted of structures known to be important for speech-related sensory and motor processing,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 while putative planning dynamics were most regularly observed in the caudal inferior frontal gyrus (cIFG) and the middle frontal gyrus (cMFG). To test if these structures are necessary for planning during spoken interaction, we used direct electrical stimulation (DES) to transiently perturb cortical function in neurosurgical patient-volunteers performing a question-answer task.7,18,19 We found that stimulating the cIFG and cMFG led to various response errors9,13,20,21 but not gross articulatory deficits, which instead resulted from DES of structures involved in motor control8,13,20,22 (e.g., the precentral gyrus). Furthermore, perturbation of the cIFG and cMFG delayed inter-speaker timing-consistent with slowed planning-while faster responses could result from stimulation of sites located in other areas. Taken together, our findings suggest that the cIFG and cMFG contain critical preparatory circuits that are relevant for interactive language use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregg A Castellucci
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Christopher K Kovach
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Farhad Tabasi
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - David Christianson
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Jeremy D W Greenlee
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA; Iowa Neuroscience Institute, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Michael A Long
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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3
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Chen X, Ouyang F, Liang J, Huang W, Zeng J, Xing S. Cerebral asymmetry in adult Macaca fascicularis as revealed by voxel-based MRI and DTI analysis. Brain Res 2024; 1830:148818. [PMID: 38387715 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2024.148818] [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] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 01/28/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Investigating cerebral asymmetries in non-human primates would facilitate to understand the evolutional traits of the human brain specialization related to language and other high-level cognition. However, brain asymmetrical studies of monkeys produced controversial results. Here, we investigated the cerebral asymmetries using a combination of the optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) protocols in monkeys. The study-specific MRI and DTI-based templates were created in 66 adult Macaca fascicularis, and the asymmetrical index of grey and white matter was subsequently examined. The VBM analysis detected the well-known frontal and occipital petalias and confirmed the presence of leftward asymmetry in the ventral frontal cortex. A marked leftward asymmetry of anterior superior temporal gyrus but not posterior portion were found. We also identified grey matter asymmetries in some regions that were not previously reported including rightward anterior cingulate, insular cortex and thalamus, and leftward caudate. In contrast, the results of TBSS analysis for the first time revealed the robust leftwards asymmetries of corpus callosum (splenium and body), internal/external capsule, and white matter in middle temporal gyrus, adjacent thalamus and amygdala whereas the rightwards in uncinate fasciculus, posterior thalamic radiation and cerebral peduncle. These findings provide robust evidence of grey and white matter asymmetries in the brain of monkeys, which may extend the understanding of brain evolution in cerebral specialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinran Chen
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fubing Ouyang
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiahui Liang
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Weixian Huang
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jinsheng Zeng
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Shihui Xing
- Department of Neurology and Stroke Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Major Neurological Diseases, National Key Clinical Department and Key Discipline of Neurology, Guangzhou, China.
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4
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Zhang Y, Shen SX, Bibic A, Wang X. Evolutionary continuity and divergence of auditory dorsal and ventral pathways in primates revealed by ultra-high field diffusion MRI. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2313831121. [PMID: 38377216 PMCID: PMC10907247 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313831121] [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: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Auditory dorsal and ventral pathways in the human brain play important roles in supporting speech and language processing. However, the evolutionary root of the dual auditory pathways in the primate brain is unclear. By parcellating the auditory cortex of marmosets (a New World monkey species), macaques (an Old World monkey species), and humans using the same individual-based analysis method and tracking the pathways from the auditory cortex based on multi-shell diffusion-weighted MRI (dMRI), homologous auditory dorsal and ventral fiber tracks were identified in these primate species. The ventral pathway was found to be well conserved in all three primate species analyzed but extend to more anterior temporal regions in humans. In contrast, the dorsal pathway showed a divergence between monkey and human brains. First, frontal regions in the human brain have stronger connections to the higher-level auditory regions than to the lower-level auditory regions along the dorsal pathway, while frontal regions in the monkey brain show opposite connection patterns along the dorsal pathway. Second, the left lateralization of the dorsal pathway is only found in humans. Moreover, the connectivity strength of the dorsal pathway in marmosets is more similar to that of humans than macaques. These results demonstrate the continuity and divergence of the dual auditory pathways in the primate brains along the evolutionary path, suggesting that the putative neural networks supporting human speech and language processing might have emerged early in primate evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhang
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21205
| | - Sherry Xinyi Shen
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21205
| | - Adnan Bibic
- Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21205
- Kirby Research Center for Functional Brain Imaging, Kennedy Krieger Institute, F. M. Kirby Center, Baltimore, MD21205
| | - Xiaoqin Wang
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21205
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5
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Khanna AR, Muñoz W, Kim YJ, Kfir Y, Paulk AC, Jamali M, Cai J, Mustroph ML, Caprara I, Hardstone R, Mejdell M, Meszéna D, Zuckerman A, Schweitzer J, Cash S, Williams ZM. Single-neuronal elements of speech production in humans. Nature 2024; 626:603-610. [PMID: 38297120 PMCID: PMC10866697 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06982-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Humans are capable of generating extraordinarily diverse articulatory movement combinations to produce meaningful speech. This ability to orchestrate specific phonetic sequences, and their syllabification and inflection over subsecond timescales allows us to produce thousands of word sounds and is a core component of language1,2. The fundamental cellular units and constructs by which we plan and produce words during speech, however, remain largely unknown. Here, using acute ultrahigh-density Neuropixels recordings capable of sampling across the cortical column in humans, we discover neurons in the language-dominant prefrontal cortex that encoded detailed information about the phonetic arrangement and composition of planned words during the production of natural speech. These neurons represented the specific order and structure of articulatory events before utterance and reflected the segmentation of phonetic sequences into distinct syllables. They also accurately predicted the phonetic, syllabic and morphological components of upcoming words and showed a temporally ordered dynamic. Collectively, we show how these mixtures of cells are broadly organized along the cortical column and how their activity patterns transition from articulation planning to production. We also demonstrate how these cells reliably track the detailed composition of consonant and vowel sounds during perception and how they distinguish processes specifically related to speaking from those related to listening. Together, these findings reveal a remarkably structured organization and encoding cascade of phonetic representations by prefrontal neurons in humans and demonstrate a cellular process that can support the production of speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arjun R Khanna
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - William Muñoz
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Yoav Kfir
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Angelique C Paulk
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mohsen Jamali
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jing Cai
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Martina L Mustroph
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Irene Caprara
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Richard Hardstone
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mackenna Mejdell
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Domokos Meszéna
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Jeffrey Schweitzer
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sydney Cash
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ziv M Williams
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Program in Neuroscience, Boston, MA, USA.
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6
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Bufacchi RJ, Battaglia-Mayer A, Iannetti GD, Caminiti R. Cortico-spinal modularity in the parieto-frontal system: A new perspective on action control. Prog Neurobiol 2023; 231:102537. [PMID: 37832714 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102537] [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] [Received: 04/02/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
Classical neurophysiology suggests that the motor cortex (MI) has a unique role in action control. In contrast, this review presents evidence for multiple parieto-frontal spinal command modules that can bypass MI. Five observations support this modular perspective: (i) the statistics of cortical connectivity demonstrate functionally-related clusters of cortical areas, defining functional modules in the premotor, cingulate, and parietal cortices; (ii) different corticospinal pathways originate from the above areas, each with a distinct range of conduction velocities; (iii) the activation time of each module varies depending on task, and different modules can be activated simultaneously; (iv) a modular architecture with direct motor output is faster and less metabolically expensive than an architecture that relies on MI, given the slow connections between MI and other cortical areas; (v) lesions of the areas composing parieto-frontal modules have different effects from lesions of MI. Here we provide examples of six cortico-spinal modules and functions they subserve: module 1) arm reaching, tool use and object construction; module 2) spatial navigation and locomotion; module 3) grasping and observation of hand and mouth actions; module 4) action initiation, motor sequences, time encoding; module 5) conditional motor association and learning, action plan switching and action inhibition; module 6) planning defensive actions. These modules can serve as a library of tools to be recombined when faced with novel tasks, and MI might serve as a recombinatory hub. In conclusion, the availability of locally-stored information and multiple outflow paths supports the physiological plausibility of the proposed modular perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Bufacchi
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy; International Center for Primate Brain Research (ICPBR), Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - A Battaglia-Mayer
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome, Sapienza, Italy
| | - G D Iannetti
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - R Caminiti
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy.
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7
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Zhao L, Wang X. Frontal cortex activity during the production of diverse social communication calls in marmoset monkeys. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6634. [PMID: 37857618 PMCID: PMC10587070 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42052-5] [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: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Vocal communication is essential for social behaviors in humans and non-human primates. While the frontal cortex is crucial to human speech production, its role in vocal production in non-human primates has long been questioned. It is unclear whether activities in the frontal cortex represent diverse vocal signals used in non-human primate communication. Here we studied single neuron activities and local field potentials (LFP) in the frontal cortex of male marmoset monkeys while the animal engaged in vocal exchanges with conspecifics in a social environment. We found that both single neuron activities and LFP were modulated by the production of each of the four major call types. Moreover, neural activities showed distinct patterns for different call types and theta-band LFP oscillations showed phase-locking to the phrases of twitter calls, suggesting a neural representation of vocalization features. Our results suggest important functions of the marmoset frontal cortex in supporting the production of diverse vocalizations in communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lingyun Zhao
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
| | - Xiaoqin Wang
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
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8
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Gan-Or B, London M. Cortical circuits modulate mouse social vocalizations. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade6992. [PMID: 37774030 PMCID: PMC10541007 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade6992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Vocalizations provide a means of communication with high fidelity and information rate for many species. Diencephalon and brainstem neural circuits have been shown to control mouse vocal production; however, the role of cortical circuits in this process is debatable. Using electrical and optogenetic stimulation, we identified a cortical region in the anterior cingulate cortex in which stimulation elicits ultrasonic vocalizations. Moreover, fiber photometry showed an increase in Ca2+ dynamics preceding vocal initiation, whereas optogenetic suppression in this cortical area caused mice to emit fewer vocalizations. Last, electrophysiological recordings indicated a differential increase in neural activity in response to female social exposure dependent on vocal output. Together, these results indicate that the cortex is a key node in the neuronal circuits controlling vocal behavior in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Gan-Or
- Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences and Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
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9
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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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10
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Brecht KF, Westendorff S, Nieder A. Neural correlates of cognitively controlled vocalizations in a corvid songbird. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112113. [PMID: 36821443 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2022] [Revised: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The neuronal basis of the songbird's song system is well understood. However, little is known about the neuronal correlates of the executive control of songbird vocalizations. Here, we record single-unit activity from the pallial endbrain region "nidopallium caudolaterale" (NCL) of crows that vocalize to the presentation of a visual go-cue but refrain from vocalizing during trials without a go-cue. We find that the preparatory activity of single vocalization-correlated neurons, but also of the entire population of NCL neurons, before vocal onset predicts whether or not the crows will produce an instructed vocalization. Fluctuations in baseline neuronal activity prior to the go-cue influence the premotor activity of such vocalization-correlated neurons and seemingly bias the crows' decision to vocalize. Neuronal response modulation significantly differs between volitional and task-unrelated vocalizations. This suggests that the NCL can take control over the vocal motor network during the production of volitional vocalizations in a corvid songbird.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina F Brecht
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Stephanie Westendorff
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology Unit, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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11
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Tomasek M, Ravignani A, Boucherie PH, Van Meyel S, Dufour V. Spontaneous vocal coordination of vocalizations to water noise in rooks ( Corvus frugilegus): An exploratory study. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9791. [PMID: 36818533 PMCID: PMC9936512 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to control one's vocal production is a major advantage in acoustic communication. Yet, not all species have the same level of control over their vocal output. Several bird species can interrupt their song upon hearing an external stimulus, but there is no evidence how flexible this behavior is. Most research on corvids focuses on their cognitive abilities, but few studies explore their vocal aptitudes. Recent research shows that crows can be experimentally trained to vocalize in response to a brief visual stimulus. Our study investigated vocal control abilities with a more ecologically embedded approach in rooks. We show that two rooks could spontaneously coordinate their vocalizations to a long-lasting stimulus (the sound of their small bathing pool being filled with a water hose), one of them adjusting roughly (in the second range) its vocalizations as the stimuli began and stopped. This exploratory study adds to the literature showing that corvids, a group of species capable of cognitive prowess, are indeed able to display good vocal control abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maëlan Tomasek
- Ecole Normale Supérieure de LyonLyonFrance,UMR 7247, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements, INRAE, CNRS, IFCEUniversité de ToursStrasbourgFrance
| | - Andrea Ravignani
- Comparative Bioacoustics GroupMax Planck Institute for PsycholinguisticsNijmegenThe Netherlands,Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical MedicineAarhus University & The Royal Academy of MusicAarhus CDenmark
| | | | - Sophie Van Meyel
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRSUniversity of ToursToursFrance
| | - Valérie Dufour
- UMR 7247, Physiologie de la reproduction et des comportements, INRAE, CNRS, IFCEUniversité de ToursStrasbourgFrance
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12
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Watson SK, Filippi P, Gasparri L, Falk N, Tamer N, Widmer P, Manser M, Glock H. Optionality in animal communication: a novel framework for examining the evolution of arbitrariness. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:2057-2075. [PMID: 35818133 PMCID: PMC9795909 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
A critical feature of language is that the form of words need not bear any perceptual similarity to their function - these relationships can be 'arbitrary'. The capacity to process these arbitrary form-function associations facilitates the enormous expressive power of language. However, the evolutionary roots of our capacity for arbitrariness, i.e. the extent to which related abilities may be shared with animals, is largely unexamined. We argue this is due to the challenges of applying such an intrinsically linguistic concept to animal communication, and address this by proposing a novel conceptual framework highlighting a key underpinning of linguistic arbitrariness, which is nevertheless applicable to non-human species. Specifically, we focus on the capacity to associate alternative functions with a signal, or alternative signals with a function, a feature we refer to as optionality. We apply this framework to a broad survey of findings from animal communication studies and identify five key dimensions of communicative optionality: signal production, signal adjustment, signal usage, signal combinatoriality and signal perception. We find that optionality is widespread in non-human animals across each of these dimensions, although only humans demonstrate it in all five. Finally, we discuss the relevance of optionality to behavioural and cognitive domains outside of communication. This investigation provides a powerful new conceptual framework for the cross-species investigation of the origins of arbitrariness, and promises to generate original insights into animal communication and language evolution more generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart K. Watson
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 1908057ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Piera Filippi
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of PhilosophyUniversity of ZurichZurichbergstrasse 438044ZürichSwitzerland
| | - Luca Gasparri
- Department of PhilosophyUniversity of ZurichZurichbergstrasse 438044ZürichSwitzerland,Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8163 – STL – Savoirs Textes LangageF‐59000LilleFrance
| | - Nikola Falk
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 1908057ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Nicole Tamer
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland
| | - Paul Widmer
- Department of Comparative Language ScienceUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland
| | - Marta Manser
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichWinterthurerstrasse 1908057ZurichSwitzerland
| | - Hans‐Johann Glock
- Center for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language EvolutionUniversity of ZurichAffolternstrasse 568050ZürichSwitzerland,Department of PhilosophyUniversity of ZurichZurichbergstrasse 438044ZürichSwitzerland
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13
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De Marco D, De Stefani E, Vecchiato G. Embodying Language through Gestures: Residuals of Motor Memories Modulate Motor Cortex Excitability during Abstract Words Comprehension. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 22:7734. [PMID: 36298083 PMCID: PMC9610064 DOI: 10.3390/s22207734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
There is a debate about whether abstract semantics could be represented in a motor domain as concrete language. A contextual association with a motor schema (action or gesture) seems crucial to highlighting the motor system involvement. The present study with transcranial magnetic stimulation aimed to assess motor cortex excitability changes during abstract word comprehension after conditioning word reading to a gesture execution with congruent or incongruent meaning. Twelve healthy volunteers were engaged in a lexical-decision task responding to abstract words or meaningless verbal stimuli. Motor cortex (M1) excitability was measured at different after-stimulus intervals (100, 250, or 500 ms) before and after an associative-learning training where the execution of the gesture followed word processing. Results showed a significant post-training decrease in hand motor evoked potentials at an early processing stage (100 ms) in correspondence to words congruent with the gestures presented during the training. We hypothesized that traces of individual semantic memory, combined with training effects, induced M1 inhibition due to the redundancy of evoked motor representation. No modulation of cortical excitability was found for meaningless or incongruent words. We discuss data considering the possible implications in research to understand the neural basis of language development and language rehabilitation protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Doriana De Marco
- Istituto di Neuroscienze, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 43125 Parma, Italy
- Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università degli Studi di Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy
| | - Elisa De Stefani
- Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry-NPIA District of Scandiano, AUSL of Reggio Emilia, 42019 Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Giovanni Vecchiato
- Istituto di Neuroscienze, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 43125 Parma, Italy
- Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università degli Studi di Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy
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14
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Castellucci GA, Guenther FH, Long MA. A Theoretical Framework for Human and Nonhuman Vocal Interaction. Annu Rev Neurosci 2022; 45:295-316. [PMID: 35316612 PMCID: PMC9909589 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-111020-094807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Vocal communication is a critical feature of social interaction across species; however, the relation between such behavior in humans and nonhumans remains unclear. To enable comparative investigation of this topic, we review the literature pertinent to interactive language use and identify the superset of cognitive operations involved in generating communicative action. We posit these functions comprise three intersecting multistep pathways: (a) the Content Pathway, which selects the movements constituting a response; (b) the Timing Pathway, which temporally structures responses; and (c) the Affect Pathway, which modulates response parameters according to internal state. These processing streams form the basis of the Convergent Pathways for Interaction framework, which provides a conceptual model for investigating the cognitive and neural computations underlying vocal communication across species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregg A. Castellucci
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Frank H. Guenther
- Departments of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences and Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael A. Long
- NYU Neuroscience Institute and Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
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15
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Abstract
We examined the cortical control of a laryngeal muscle that is essential for vocalization in two monkey species that differ in their vocal motor skill. Our results suggest that enhancements in vocal skill are coupled to enlargements in the descending output from two premotor areas, ventral area 6 (area 6V) and the supplementary motor area (SMA). This result challenges the view that improvements in motor skills are due largely to changes in the output from the primary motor cortex. Marmosets display remarkable vocal motor abilities. Macaques do not. What is it about the marmoset brain that enables its skill in the vocal domain? We examined the cortical control of a laryngeal muscle that is essential for vocalization in both species. We found that, in both monkeys, multiple premotor areas in the frontal lobe along with the primary motor cortex (M1) are major sources of disynaptic drive to laryngeal motoneurons. Two of the premotor areas, ventral area 6 (area 6V) and the supplementary motor area (SMA), are a substantially larger source of descending output in marmosets. We propose that the enhanced vocal motor skills of marmosets are due, in part, to the expansion of descending output from these premotor areas.
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16
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Banerjee A, Vallentin D. Convergent behavioral strategies and neural computations during vocal turn-taking across diverse species. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 73:102529. [DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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17
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Sliwa J, Mallet M, Christiaens M, Takahashi DY. Neural basis of multi-sensory communication in primates. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2021.2024266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Julia Sliwa
- Paris Brain Institute–Institut du Cerveau, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Marion Mallet
- Paris Brain Institute–Institut du Cerveau, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Maëlle Christiaens
- Paris Brain Institute–Institut du Cerveau, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
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18
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Palma M, Khoshnevis M, Lion M, Zenga C, Kefs S, Fallegger F, Schiavone G, Flandin IG, Lacour S, Yvert B. Chronic recording of cortical activity underlying vocalization in awake minipigs. J Neurosci Methods 2022; 366:109427. [PMID: 34852254 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2021.109427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Investigating brain dynamics underlying vocal production in animals is a powerful way to inform on the neural bases of human speech. In particular, brain networks underlying vocal production in non-human primates show striking similarities with the human speech production network. However, despite increasing findings also in birds and more recently in rodents, the extent to which the primate vocal cortical network model generalizes to other non-primate mammals remains unclear. Especially, no domestic species has yet been proposed to investigate vocal brain activity using electrophysiological approaches. NEW METHOD In the present study, we introduce a novel experimental paradigm to identify the cortical dynamics underlying vocal production in behaving minipigs. A key problem to chronically implant cortical probes in pigs is the presence and growth of frontal sinuses extending caudally to the parietal bone and preventing safe access to neural structures with conventional craniotomy in adult animals. RESULTS Here we first show that implantations of soft ECoG grids can be done safely using conventional craniotomy in minipigs younger than 5 months, a period when sinuses are not yet well developed. Using wireless recordings in behaving animals, we further show activation of the motor and premotor cortex around the onset of vocal production of grunts, the most common vocalization of pigs. CONCLUSION These results suggest that minipigs, which are very loquacious and social animals, can be a good experimental large animal model to study the cortical bases of vocal production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Palma
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Mehrdad Khoshnevis
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Marie Lion
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Cyril Zenga
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Samy Kefs
- CHU Grenoble Alpes, Clinique Universitaire de Cancérologie-Radiothérapie, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Florian Fallegger
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Giuseppe Schiavone
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Isabelle Gabelle Flandin
- CHU Grenoble Alpes, Clinique Universitaire de Cancérologie-Radiothérapie, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Stéphanie Lacour
- Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Blaise Yvert
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut Neurosciences, 38000 Grenoble, France.
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19
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Bakola S, Burman KJ, Bednarek S, Chan JM, Jermakow N, Worthy KH, Majka P, Rosa MGP. Afferent Connections of Cytoarchitectural Area 6M and Surrounding Cortex in the Marmoset: Putative Homologues of the Supplementary and Pre-supplementary Motor Areas. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:41-62. [PMID: 34255833 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2021] [Revised: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Cortical projections to the caudomedial frontal cortex were studied using retrograde tracers in marmosets. We tested the hypothesis that cytoarchitectural area 6M includes homologues of the supplementary and pre-supplementary motor areas (SMA and pre-SMA) of other primates. We found that, irrespective of the injection sites' location within 6M, over half of the labeled neurons were located in motor and premotor areas. Other connections originated in prefrontal area 8b, ventral anterior and posterior cingulate areas, somatosensory areas (3a and 1-2), and areas on the rostral aspect of the dorsal posterior parietal cortex. Although the origin of afferents was similar, injections in rostral 6M received higher percentages of prefrontal afferents, and fewer somatosensory afferents, compared to caudal injections, compatible with differentiation into SMA and pre-SMA. Injections rostral to 6M (area 8b) revealed a very different set of connections, with increased emphasis on prefrontal and posterior cingulate afferents, and fewer parietal afferents. The connections of 6M were also quantitatively different from those of the primary motor cortex, dorsal premotor areas, and cingulate motor area 24d. These results show that the cortical motor control circuit is conserved in simian primates, indicating that marmosets can be valuable models for studying movement planning and control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia Bakola
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.,Monash University Node, ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Kathleen J Burman
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.,Monash University Node, ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Sylwia Bednarek
- Laboratory of Neuroinformatics, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jonathan M Chan
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.,Monash University Node, ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Natalia Jermakow
- Laboratory of Neuroinformatics, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Katrina H Worthy
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Piotr Majka
- Monash University Node, ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.,Laboratory of Neuroinformatics, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marcello G P Rosa
- Department of Physiology and Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia.,Monash University Node, ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
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20
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Gavrilov N, Nieder A. Distinct neural networks for the volitional control of vocal and manual actions in the monkey homologue of Broca's area. eLife 2021; 10:e62797. [PMID: 33534697 PMCID: PMC7857725 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ventrolateral frontal lobe (Broca's area) of the human brain is crucial in speech production. In macaques, neurons in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, the suggested monkey homologue of Broca's area, signal the volitional initiation of vocalizations. We explored whether this brain area became specialized for vocal initiation during primate evolution and trained macaques to alternate between a vocal and manual action in response to arbitrary cues. During task performance, single neurons recorded from the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and the rostroventral premotor cortex of the inferior frontal cortex predominantly signaled the impending vocal or, to a lesser extent, manual action, but not both. Neuronal activity was specific for volitional action plans and differed during spontaneous movement preparations. This implies that the primate inferior frontal cortex controls the initiation of volitional utterances via a dedicated network of vocal selective neurons that might have been exploited during the evolution of Broca's area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalja Gavrilov
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of TübingenTübingenGermany
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21
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Eichert N, Papp D, Mars RB, Watkins KE. Mapping Human Laryngeal Motor Cortex during Vocalization. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:6254-6269. [PMID: 32728706 PMCID: PMC7610685 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Revised: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 06/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The representations of the articulators involved in human speech production are organized somatotopically in primary motor cortex. The neural representation of the larynx, however, remains debated. Both a dorsal and a ventral larynx representation have been previously described. It is unknown, however, whether both representations are located in primary motor cortex. Here, we mapped the motor representations of the human larynx using functional magnetic resonance imaging and characterized the cortical microstructure underlying the activated regions. We isolated brain activity related to laryngeal activity during vocalization while controlling for breathing. We also mapped the articulators (the lips and tongue) and the hand area. We found two separate activations during vocalization-a dorsal and a ventral larynx representation. Structural and quantitative neuroimaging revealed that myelin content and cortical thickness underlying the dorsal, but not the ventral larynx representation, are similar to those of other primary motor representations. This finding confirms that the dorsal larynx representation is located in primary motor cortex and that the ventral one is not. We further speculate that the location of the ventral larynx representation is in premotor cortex, as seen in other primates. It remains unclear, however, whether and how these two representations differentially contribute to laryngeal motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Eichert
- Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Daniel Papp
- Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Rogier B. Mars
- Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Kate E. Watkins
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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22
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Gerbella M, Pinardi C, Di Cesare G, Rizzolatti G, Caruana F. Two Neural Networks for Laughter: A Tractography Study. Cereb Cortex 2020; 31:899-916. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Revised: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Laughter is a complex motor behavior occurring in both emotional and nonemotional contexts. Here, we investigated whether the different functions of laughter are mediated by distinct networks and, if this is the case, which are the white matter tracts sustaining them. We performed a multifiber tractography investigation placing seeds in regions involved in laughter production, as identified by previous intracerebral electrical stimulation studies in humans: the pregenual anterior cingulate (pACC), ventral temporal pole (TPv), frontal operculum (FO), presupplementary motor cortex, and ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens (VS/NAcc). The primary motor cortex (M1) and two subcortical territories were also studied to trace the descending projections. Results provided evidence for the existence of two relatively distinct networks. A first network, including pACC, TPv, and VS/NAcc, is interconnected through the anterior cingulate bundle, the accumbofrontal tract, and the uncinate fasciculus, reaching the brainstem throughout the mamillo-tegmental tract. This network is likely involved in the production of emotional laughter. A second network, anchored to FO and M1, projects to the brainstem motor nuclei through the internal capsule. It is most likely the neural basis of nonemotional and conversational laughter. The two networks interact throughout the pre-SMA that is connected to both pACC and FO.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Gerbella
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma 43125, Italy
| | - C Pinardi
- Neuroradiology Department, Fondazione I.R.C.C.S. Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan 20133, Italy
| | - G Di Cesare
- Cognitive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies Unit, Italian Institute of Technology, Genova 16163, Italy
| | - G Rizzolatti
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma 43125, Italy
- Institute of Neuroscience, Italian National Research Council (CNR), Parma 43125, Italy
| | - F Caruana
- Institute of Neuroscience, Italian National Research Council (CNR), Parma 43125, Italy
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23
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Archakov D, DeWitt I, Kuśmierek P, Ortiz-Rios M, Cameron D, Cui D, Morin EL, VanMeter JW, Sams M, Jääskeläinen IP, Rauschecker JP. Auditory representation of learned sound sequences in motor regions of the macaque brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:15242-15252. [PMID: 32541016 PMCID: PMC7334521 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1915610117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Human speech production requires the ability to couple motor actions with their auditory consequences. Nonhuman primates might not have speech because they lack this ability. To address this question, we trained macaques to perform an auditory-motor task producing sound sequences via hand presses on a newly designed device ("monkey piano"). Catch trials were interspersed to ascertain the monkeys were listening to the sounds they produced. Functional MRI was then used to map brain activity while the animals listened attentively to the sound sequences they had learned to produce and to two control sequences, which were either completely unfamiliar or familiar through passive exposure only. All sounds activated auditory midbrain and cortex, but listening to the sequences that were learned by self-production additionally activated the putamen and the hand and arm regions of motor cortex. These results indicate that, in principle, monkeys are capable of forming internal models linking sound perception and production in motor regions of the brain, so this ability is not special to speech in humans. However, the coupling of sounds and actions in nonhuman primates (and the availability of an internal model supporting it) seems not to extend to the upper vocal tract, that is, the supralaryngeal articulators, which are key for the production of speech sounds in humans. The origin of speech may have required the evolution of a "command apparatus" similar to the control of the hand, which was crucial for the evolution of tool use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Denis Archakov
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057
- Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, FI-02150 Espoo, Finland
| | - Iain DeWitt
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057
| | - Paweł Kuśmierek
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057
| | - Michael Ortiz-Rios
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057
| | - Daniel Cameron
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057
| | - Ding Cui
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057
| | - Elyse L Morin
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057
| | - John W VanMeter
- Center for Functional and Molecular Imaging, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057
| | - Mikko Sams
- Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, FI-02150 Espoo, Finland
| | - Iiro P Jääskeläinen
- Brain and Mind Laboratory, Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University School of Science, FI-02150 Espoo, Finland
| | - Josef P Rauschecker
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20057;
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24
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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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25
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Li Z, Li C, Liang Y, Wang K, Zhang W, Chen R, Wu Q, Zhang X. Altered Functional Connectivity and Brain Network Property in Pregnant Women With Cleft Fetuses. Front Psychol 2019; 10:2235. [PMID: 31649585 PMCID: PMC6795235 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 09/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-syndromic clefts of the lip and/or palate (NSCLP) is the most common congenital anomaly in the craniofacial region. NSCLP is a highly gene-associated malformation. We speculate that pregnant women with NSCLP fetuses (pregnancies with NSCLP) may have specific brain changes during pregnancy. To explore characteristic brain function changes of pregnancies with NSCLP, we analyzed resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) data of 42 pregnant women (21 pregnancies with NSCLP and 21 pregnancies with normal fetuses) to compare intergroup differences of (fractional) amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF/ALFF), regional homogeneity (Reho), functional connectivity (FC) and network topological properties. Compared with the control group, increased ALFF in the left hippocampus, the right fusiform and the left anterior cingulate (ACG), increased Reho in left middle occipital gyrus (MOG) and right medial frontal gyrus (MFG) were found for pregnancies with NSCLP. Meanwhile, FC between the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and bilateral olfactory cortex (OLF), FC between left precentral gyrus (PreCG) and right MFG, FC between right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) were enhanced in pregnancies with NSCLP. Besides, FC between left PreCG and left amygdala, bilateral para-hippocampal gyrus, FC between left amygdala and left MFG, right IFG were decreased. Graph theory-based analysis explored increased degree centrality (DC), betweenness centrality (BC) and nodal efficiency (Ne) in the left ITG and left SMG for pregnancies with NSCLP. Pregnancies with NSCLP has widespread decreased FC within neural networks of speech and language, which indicated that they were more likely to be associated with defects in speech and language skills. At the same time, increased topological indices showed that speech and language related regions played dominant role in their brain networks. These findings may provide clues for early detection of NSCLP fetuses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhen Li
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Fundamental Research on Biomechanics in Clinical Application, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Chunlin Li
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Fundamental Research on Biomechanics in Clinical Application, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuting Liang
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Keyang Wang
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Wenjing Zhang
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Plastic and Trauma Surgery, Center of Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment, Beijing Stomatological Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Renji Chen
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Plastic and Trauma Surgery, Center of Cleft Lip and Palate Treatment, Beijing Stomatological Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Qingqing Wu
- Department of Ultrasound, Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Xu Zhang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Fundamental Research on Biomechanics in Clinical Application, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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26
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Eliades SJ, Wang X. Corollary Discharge Mechanisms During Vocal Production in Marmoset Monkeys. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2019; 4:805-812. [PMID: 31420219 PMCID: PMC6733626 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2019] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Interactions between motor systems and sensory processing are ubiquitous throughout the animal kingdom and play an important role in many sensorimotor behaviors, including both human speech and animal vocalization. During vocal production, the auditory system plays important roles in both encoding feedback of produced sounds, allowing one to self-monitor for vocal errors, and simultaneously maintaining sensitivity to the outside acoustic environment. Supporting these roles is an efferent motor-to-sensory signal known as a corollary discharge. This review summarizes recent work on the role of such signaling during vocalization in the marmoset monkey, a nonhuman primate model of social vocal communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J. Eliades
- Auditory and Communication Systems Laboratory, Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A
| | - Xiaoqin Wang
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, U.S.A
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Fröhlich M, Sievers C, Townsend SW, Gruber T, van Schaik CP. Multimodal communication and language origins: integrating gestures and vocalizations. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 94:1809-1829. [PMID: 31250542 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The presence of divergent and independent research traditions in the gestural and vocal domains of primate communication has resulted in major discrepancies in the definition and operationalization of cognitive concepts. However, in recent years, accumulating evidence from behavioural and neurobiological research has shown that both human and non-human primate communication is inherently multimodal. It is therefore timely to integrate the study of gestural and vocal communication. Herein, we review evidence demonstrating that there is no clear difference between primate gestures and vocalizations in the extent to which they show evidence for the presence of key language properties: intentionality, reference, iconicity and turn-taking. We also find high overlap in the neurobiological mechanisms producing primate gestures and vocalizations, as well as in ontogenetic flexibility. These findings confirm that human language had multimodal origins. Nonetheless, we note that in great apes, gestures seem to fulfil a carrying (i.e. predominantly informative) role in close-range communication, whereas the opposite holds for face-to-face interactions of humans. This suggests an evolutionary shift in the carrying role from the gestural to the vocal stream, and we explore this transition in the carrying modality. Finally, we suggest that future studies should focus on the links between complex communication, sociality and cooperative tendency to strengthen the study of language origins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlen Fröhlich
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Christine Sievers
- Department of Philosophy and Media Studies, Philosophy Seminar, University of Basel, Holbeinstrasse 12, 4051, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Simon W Townsend
- Department of Comparative Linguistics, University of Zurich, Plattenstrasse 54, 8032, Zurich, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, University of Warwick, University Road, CV4 7AL, Coventry, UK
| | - Thibaud Gruber
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, CISA, University of Geneva, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, OX1 3SZ, Oxford, UK
| | - Carel P van Schaik
- Department of Anthropology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
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Tramacere A, Wada K, Okanoya K, Iriki A, Ferrari PF. Auditory-Motor Matching in Vocal Recognition and Imitative Learning. Neuroscience 2019; 409:222-234. [PMID: 30742962 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.01.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Songbirds possess mirror neurons (MNs) activating during the perception and execution of specific features of songs. These neurons are located in high vocal center (HVC), a premotor nucleus implicated in song perception, production and learning, making worth to inquire their properties and functions in vocal recognition and imitative learning. By integrating a body of brain and behavioral data, we discuss neurophysiology, anatomical, computational properties and possible functions of songbird MNs. We state that the neurophysiological properties of songbird MNs depends on sensorimotor regions that are outside the auditory neural system. Interestingly, songbirds MNs can be the result of the specific type of song representation possessed by some songbird species. At the functional level, we discuss whether songbird MNs are involved in others' song recognition, by dissecting the function of recognition in various different but possible overlapping processes: action-oriented perception, discriminative-oriented perception and identification of the signaler. We conclude that songbird MNs may be involved in recognizing other singer's vocalizations, while their role in imitative learning still require to solve how auditory feedback are used to correct own vocal performance to match the tutor song. Finally, we compare songbird and human mirror responses, hypothesizing a case of convergent evolution, and proposing new experimental directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonella Tramacere
- Max Planck for the Science of Human History, DLCE Department, Jena, Kahlaische Str 10, 07745, Germany.
| | - Kazuhiro Wada
- Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Hokkaido University, Kita-10 Nishi-8 Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 153-8902 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Atsushi Iriki
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 351-0106 Saitama Prefecture, Wako, Hirosawa, Japan
| | - Pier F Ferrari
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, via Volturno, 43125, Italy; Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jannerod, CNRS/Universite' Claude Bernard Lyon, 67 Pd Pinel 69675, Bron Cedex, France
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29
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Salari E, Freudenburg ZV, Vansteensel MJ, Ramsey NF. Spatial-Temporal Dynamics of the Sensorimotor Cortex: Sustained and Transient Activity. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2019; 26:1084-1092. [PMID: 29752244 DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2018.2821058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
How the sensorimotor cortex is organized with respect to controlling different features of movement is unclear. One unresolved question concerns the relation between the duration of an action and the duration of the associated neuronal activity change in the sensorimotor cortex. Using subdural electrocorticography electrodes, we investigated in five subjects, whether high frequency band (HFB; 75-135 Hz) power changes have a transient or sustained relation to speech duration, during pronunciation of the Dutch /i/ vowel with different durations. We showed that the neuronal activity patterns recorded from the sensorimotor cortex can be directly related to action duration in some locations, whereas in other locations, during the same action, neuronal activity is transient, with a peak in HFB activity at movement onset and/or offset. This data sheds light on the neural underpinnings of motor actions and we discuss the possible mechanisms underlying these different response types.
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Sharma S, Mantini D, Vanduffel W, Nelissen K. Functional specialization of macaque premotor F5 subfields with respect to hand and mouth movements: A comparison of task and resting-state fMRI. Neuroimage 2019; 191:441-456. [PMID: 30802514 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.02.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2018] [Revised: 02/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Based on architectonic, tract-tracing or functional criteria, the rostral portion of ventral premotor cortex in the macaque monkey, also termed area F5, has been divided into several subfields. Cytoarchitectonical investigations suggest the existence of three subfields, F5c (convexity), F5p (posterior) and F5a (anterior). Electrophysiological investigations have suggested a gradual dorso-ventral transition from hand- to mouth-dominated motor fields, with F5p and ventral F5c strictly related to hand movements and mouth movements, respectively. The involvement of F5a in this respect, however, has received much less attention. Recently, data-driven resting-state fMRI approaches have also been used to examine the presence of distinct functional fields in macaque ventral premotor cortex. Although these studies have suggested several functional clusters in/near macaque F5, so far the parcellation schemes derived from these clustering methods do not completely retrieve the same level of F5 specialization as suggested by aforementioned invasive techniques. Here, using seed-based resting-state fMRI analyses, we examined the functional connectivity of different F5 seeds with key regions of the hand and face/mouth parieto-frontal-insular motor networks. In addition, we trained monkeys to perform either hand grasping or ingestive mouth movements in the scanner in order to compare resting-state with task-derived functional hand and mouth motor networks. In line with previous single-cell investigations, task-fMRI suggests involvement of F5p, dorsal F5c and F5a in the execution of hand grasping movements, while non-communicative mouth movements yielded particularly pronounced responses in ventral F5c. Corroborating with anatomical tracing data of macaque F5 subfields, seed-based resting-state fMRI suggests a transition from predominant functional correlations with the hand-motor network in F5p to mostly mouth-motor network functional correlations in ventral F5c. Dorsal F5c yielded robust functional correlations with both hand- and mouth-motor networks. In addition, the deepest part of the fundus of the inferior arcuate, corresponding to area 44, displayed a strikingly different functional connectivity profile compared to neighboring F5a, suggesting a different functional specialization for these two neighboring regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Sharma
- Laboratory for Neuro- & Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - D Mantini
- Movement Control & Neuroplasticity Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Functional Neuroimaging Laboratory, Fondazione Ospedale San Camillo - IRCCS, Venezia, Italy
| | - W Vanduffel
- Laboratory for Neuro- & Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA; Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - K Nelissen
- Laboratory for Neuro- & Psychophysiology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
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Salari E, Freudenburg ZV, Vansteensel MJ, Ramsey NF. The influence of prior pronunciations on sensorimotor cortex activity patterns during vowel production. J Neural Eng 2018; 15:066025. [PMID: 30238924 PMCID: PMC6240458 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/aae329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE In recent years, brain-computer interface (BCI) systems have been investigated for their potential as a communication device to assist people with severe paralysis. Decoding speech sensorimotor cortex activity is a promising avenue for the generation of BCI control signals, but is complicated by variability in neural patterns, leading to suboptimal decoding. We investigated whether neural pattern variability associated with sound pronunciation can be explained by prior pronunciations and determined to what extent prior speech affects BCI decoding accuracy. APPROACH Neural patterns in speech motor areas were evaluated with electrocorticography in five epilepsy patients, who performed a simple speech task that involved pronunciation of the /i/ sound, preceded by either silence, the /a/ sound or the /u/ sound. MAIN RESULTS The neural pattern related to the /i/ sound depends on previous sounds and is therefore associated with multiple distinct sensorimotor patterns, which is likely to reflect differences in the movements towards this sound. We also show that these patterns still contain a commonality that is distinct from the other vowel sounds (/a/ and /u/). Classification accuracies for the decoding of different sounds do increase, however, when the multiple patterns for the /i/ sound are taken into account. Simply including multiple forms of the /i/ vowel in the training set for the creation of a single /i/ model performs as well as training individual models for each /i/ variation. SIGNIFICANCE Our results are of interest for the development of BCIs that aim to decode speech sounds from the sensorimotor cortex, since they argue that a multitude of cortical activity patterns associated with speech movements can be reduced to a basis set of models which reflect meaningful language units (vowels), yet it is important to account for the variety of neural patterns associated with a single sound in the training process.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Salari
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
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Koda H, Kunieda T, Nishimura T. From hand to mouth: monkeys require greater effort in motor preparation for voluntary control of vocalization than for manual actions. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:180879. [PMID: 30564395 PMCID: PMC6281949 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.180879] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Voluntary control of vocal production is an essential component of the language faculty, which is thought to distinguish humans from other primates. Recent experiments have begun to reveal the capability of non-human primates to perform vocal control; however, the mechanisms underlying this ability remain unclear. Here, we revealed that Japanese macaque monkeys can learn to vocalize voluntarily through a different mechanism than that used for manual actions. The monkeys rapidly learned to touch a computer monitor when a visual stimulus was presented and showed a capacity for flexible adaptation, such that they reacted when the visual stimulus was shown at an unexpected time. By contrast, successful vocal training required additional time, and the monkeys exhibited difficulty with vocal execution when the visual stimulus appeared earlier than expected; this occurred regardless of extensive training. Thus, motor preparation before execution of an action may be a key factor in distinguishing vocalization from manual actions in monkeys; they do not exhibit a similar ability to perform motor preparation in the vocal domains. By performing direct comparisons, this study provides novel evidence regarding differences in motor control abilities between vocal and manual actions. Our findings support the suggestion that the functional expansion from hand to mouth might be a critical evolutionary event for the acquisition of voluntary control of vocalizations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Koda
- Primate Research Institute, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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34
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Salo VC, Ferrari PF, Fox NA. The role of the motor system in action understanding and communication: Evidence from human infants and non-human primates. Dev Psychobiol 2018; 61:390-401. [PMID: 30315570 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Revised: 06/30/2018] [Accepted: 08/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
There is growing evidence that activation of the motor system during observation of actions, a phenomenon first observed in non-human primates, underlies action understanding and even communication. This review (a) examines the evidence on motor system activity as an underlying neural correlate of action understanding; (b) reviews the theoretical and empirical work linking action understanding and the development of communication, with a specific focus on the role that gestures play as an intermediary; and (c) discusses the research on and existing opportunities for understanding the link between the motor system and communication in both humans and non-human primates, through the lens of action perception. Bringing together findings and perspectives from developmental social cognition in both humans and non-human primates and applying recent neuroscientific perspectives will help to elucidate the processes underlying the ability to understand and communicate with others.
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35
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Salari E, Freudenburg ZV, Vansteensel MJ, Ramsey NF. Repeated Vowel Production Affects Features of Neural Activity in Sensorimotor Cortex. Brain Topogr 2018; 32:97-110. [PMID: 30238309 PMCID: PMC6326960 DOI: 10.1007/s10548-018-0673-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 08/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The sensorimotor cortex is responsible for the generation of movements and interest in the ability to use this area for decoding speech by brain–computer interfaces has increased recently. Speech decoding is challenging however, since the relationship between neural activity and motor actions is not completely understood. Non-linearity between neural activity and movement has been found for instance for simple finger movements. Despite equal motor output, neural activity amplitudes are affected by preceding movements and the time between movements. It is unknown if neural activity is also affected by preceding motor actions during speech. We addressed this issue, using electrocorticographic high frequency band (HFB; 75–135 Hz) power changes in the sensorimotor cortex during discrete vowel generation. Three subjects with temporarily implanted electrode grids produced the /i/ vowel at repetition rates of 1, 1.33 and 1.66 Hz. For every repetition, the HFB power amplitude was determined. During the first utterance, most electrodes showed a large HFB power peak, which decreased for subsequent utterances. This result could not be explained by differences in performance. With increasing duration between utterances, more electrodes showed an equal response to all repetitions, suggesting that the duration between vowel productions influences the effect of previous productions on sensorimotor cortex activity. Our findings correspond with previous studies for finger movements and bear relevance for the development of brain-computer interfaces that employ speech decoding based on brain signals, in that past utterances will need to be taken into account for these systems to work accurately.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Salari
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Z V Freudenburg
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - M J Vansteensel
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - N F Ramsey
- Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. .,University Medical Center Utrecht, Room G03 1.24, Heidelberglaan 100, P.O. Box 85500, 3508 GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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36
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Coudé G, Ferrari PF. Reflections on the differential organization of mirror neuron systems for hand and mouth and their role in the evolution of communication in primates. INTERACTION STUDIES 2018; 19:38-53. [PMID: 35283699 PMCID: PMC8916705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
It is now generally accepted that the motor system is not purely dedicated to the control of behavior, but also has cognitive functions. Mirror neurons have provided a new perspective on how sensory information regarding others' actions and gestures is coupled with the internal cortical motor representation of them. This coupling allows an individual to enrich his interpretation of the social world through the activation of his own motor representations. Such mechanisms have been highly preserved in evolution as they are present in humans, apes and monkeys. Recent neuroanatomical data showed that there are two different connectivity patterns in mirror neuron networks in the macaque: one is concerned with sensorimotor transformation in relation to reaching and hand grasping within the traditional parietal-premotor circuits; the second one is linked to the mouth/face motor control and the new data show that it is connected with limbic structures. The mouth mirror sector seems to be wired not only for ingestive behaviors but also for orofacial communicative gestures and vocalizations. Notably, the hand and mouth mirror networks partially overlap, suggesting the importance of hand-mouth synergies not only for sensorimotor transformation, but also for communicative purposes in order to better convey and control social signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gino Coudé
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives - Marc Jeannerod, CNRS and Université Claude Bernard Lyon, 67 Pinel, 69675 Bron, Cedex, France
| | - Pier Francesco Ferrari
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives - Marc Jeannerod, CNRS and Université Claude Bernard Lyon, 67 Pinel, 69675 Bron, Cedex, France
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37
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Hage SR. Auditory and audio-vocal responses of single neurons in the monkey ventral premotor cortex. Hear Res 2018; 366:82-89. [DOI: 10.1016/j.heares.2018.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Revised: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 03/19/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Belyk M, Lee YS, Brown S. How does human motor cortex regulate vocal pitch in singers? ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:172208. [PMID: 30224990 PMCID: PMC6124115 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.172208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Vocal pitch is used as an important communicative device by humans, as found in the melodic dimension of both speech and song. Vocal pitch is determined by the degree of tension in the vocal folds of the larynx, which itself is influenced by complex and nonlinear interactions among the laryngeal muscles. The relationship between these muscles and vocal pitch has been described by a mathematical model in the form of a set of 'control rules'. We searched for the biological implementation of these control rules in the larynx motor cortex of the human brain. We scanned choral singers with functional magnetic resonance imaging as they produced discrete pitches at four different levels across their vocal range. While the locations of the larynx motor activations varied across singers, the activation peaks for the four pitch levels were highly consistent within each individual singer. This result was corroborated using multi-voxel pattern analysis, which demonstrated an absence of patterned activations differentiating any pairing of pitch levels. The complex and nonlinear relationships between the multiple laryngeal muscles that control vocal pitch may obscure the neural encoding of vocal pitch in the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel Belyk
- Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yune S. Lee
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences and Center for Brain Injury, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Steven Brown
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Shepherd SV, Freiwald WA. Functional Networks for Social Communication in the Macaque Monkey. Neuron 2018; 99:413-420.e3. [PMID: 30017395 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.06.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Revised: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
All primates communicate. To dissect the neural circuits of social communication, we used fMRI to map non-human primate brain regions for social perception, second-person (interactive) social cognition, and orofacial movement generation. Face perception, second-person cognition, and face motor networks were largely non-overlapping and acted as distinct functional units rather than an integrated feedforward-processing pipeline. Whereas second-person context selectively engaged a region of medial prefrontal cortex, production of orofacial movements recruited distributed subcortical and cortical areas in medial and lateral frontal and insular cortex. These areas exhibited some specialization, but not dissociation, of function along the medio-lateral axis. Production of lipsmack movements recruited areas including putative homologs of Broca's area. These findings provide a new view of the neural architecture for social communication and suggest expressive orofacial movements generated by lateral premotor cortex as a putative evolutionary precursor to human speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen V Shepherd
- The Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
| | - Winrich A Freiwald
- The Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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40
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Gavrilov N, Hage SR, Nieder A. Functional Specialization of the Primate Frontal Lobe during Cognitive Control of Vocalizations. Cell Rep 2018; 21:2393-2406. [PMID: 29186679 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.10.107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2017] [Revised: 10/01/2017] [Accepted: 10/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive vocal control is indispensable for human language. Frontal lobe areas are involved in initiating purposeful vocalizations, but their functions remain elusive. We explored the respective roles of frontal lobe areas in initiating volitional vocalizations. Macaques were trained to vocalize in response to visual cues. Recordings from the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and the pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA) revealed single-neuron and population activity differences. Pre-vocal activity appeared first after the go cue in vlPFC, showing onset activity that was tightly linked to vocal reaction times. However, pre-vocal ACC onset activity was not indicative of call timing; instead, ramping activity reaching threshold values betrayed call onset. Neurons in preSMA showed weakest correlation with volitional call initiation and timing. These results suggest that vlPFC encodes the decision to produce volitional calls, whereas downstream ACC represents a motivational preparatory signal, followed by a general motor priming signal in preSMA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalja Gavrilov
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Steffen R Hage
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Neurobiology of Vocal Communication, Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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41
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Hage SR. Dual neural network model of speech and language evolution: new insights on flexibility of vocal production systems and involvement of frontal cortex. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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42
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Belyk M, Johnson JF, Kotz SA. Poor neuro-motor tuning of the human larynx: a comparison of sung and whistled pitch imitation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171544. [PMID: 29765635 PMCID: PMC5936900 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Vocal imitation is a hallmark of human communication that underlies the capacity to learn to speak and sing. Even so, poor vocal imitation abilities are surprisingly common in the general population and even expert vocalists cannot match the precision of a musical instrument. Although humans have evolved a greater degree of control over the laryngeal muscles that govern voice production, this ability may be underdeveloped compared with control over the articulatory muscles, such as the tongue and lips, volitional control of which emerged earlier in primate evolution. Human participants imitated simple melodies by either singing (i.e. producing pitch with the larynx) or whistling (i.e. producing pitch with the lips and tongue). Sung notes were systematically biased towards each individual's habitual pitch, which we hypothesize may act to conserve muscular effort. Furthermore, while participants who sung more precisely also whistled more precisely, sung imitations were less precise than whistled imitations. The laryngeal muscles that control voice production are under less precise control than the oral muscles that are involved in whistling. This imprecision may be due to the relatively recent evolution of volitional laryngeal-motor control in humans, which may be tuned just well enough for the coarse modulation of vocal-pitch in speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel Belyk
- Bloorview Research Institute, 150 Kilgour Road, Toronto, CanadaM4G 1R8
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Joseph F. Johnson
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Sonja A. Kotz
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human and Cognitive Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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Aboitiz F. A Brain for Speech. Evolutionary Continuity in Primate and Human Auditory-Vocal Processing. Front Neurosci 2018; 12:174. [PMID: 29636657 PMCID: PMC5880940 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2018.00174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
In this review article, I propose a continuous evolution from the auditory-vocal apparatus and its mechanisms of neural control in non-human primates, to the peripheral organs and the neural control of human speech. Although there is an overall conservatism both in peripheral systems and in central neural circuits, a few changes were critical for the expansion of vocal plasticity and the elaboration of proto-speech in early humans. Two of the most relevant changes were the acquisition of direct cortical control of the vocal fold musculature and the consolidation of an auditory-vocal articulatory circuit, encompassing auditory areas in the temporoparietal junction and prefrontal and motor areas in the frontal cortex. This articulatory loop, also referred to as the phonological loop, enhanced vocal working memory capacity, enabling early humans to learn increasingly complex utterances. The auditory-vocal circuit became progressively coupled to multimodal systems conveying information about objects and events, which gradually led to the acquisition of modern speech. Gestural communication accompanies the development of vocal communication since very early in human evolution, and although both systems co-evolved tightly in the beginning, at some point speech became the main channel of communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Aboitiz
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencias, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
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Internal states and extrinsic factors both determine monkey vocal production. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:3978-3983. [PMID: 29581269 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1722426115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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.
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Loh KK, Petrides M, Hopkins WD, Procyk E, Amiez C. Cognitive control of vocalizations in the primate ventrolateral-dorsomedial frontal (VLF-DMF) brain network. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2017; 82:32-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2016] [Revised: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Distinct Neural Activities in Premotor Cortex during Natural Vocal Behaviors in a New World Primate, the Common Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). J Neurosci 2017; 36:12168-12179. [PMID: 27903726 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1646-16.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2016] [Revised: 10/06/2016] [Accepted: 10/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Although evidence from human studies has long indicated the crucial role of the frontal cortex in speech production, it has remained uncertain whether the frontal cortex in nonhuman primates plays a similar role in vocal communication. Previous studies of prefrontal and premotor cortices of macaque monkeys have found neural signals associated with cue- and reward-conditioned vocal production, but not with self-initiated or spontaneous vocalizations (Coudé et al., 2011; Hage and Nieder, 2013), which casts doubt on the role of the frontal cortex of the Old World monkeys in vocal communication. A recent study of marmoset frontal cortex observed modulated neural activities associated with self-initiated vocal production (Miller et al., 2015), but it did not delineate whether these neural activities were specifically attributed to vocal production or if they may result from other nonvocal motor activity such as orofacial motor movement. In the present study, we attempted to resolve these issues and examined single neuron activities in premotor cortex during natural vocal exchanges in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus), a highly vocal New World primate. Neural activation and suppression were observed both before and during self-initiated vocal production. Furthermore, by comparing neural activities between self-initiated vocal production and nonvocal orofacial motor movement, we identified a subpopulation of neurons in marmoset premotor cortex that was activated or suppressed by vocal production, but not by orofacial movement. These findings provide clear evidence of the premotor cortex's involvement in self-initiated vocal production in natural vocal behaviors of a New World primate. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Human frontal cortex plays a crucial role in speech production. However, it has remained unclear whether the frontal cortex of nonhuman primates is involved in the production of self-initiated vocalizations during natural vocal communication. Using a wireless multichannel neural recording technique, we observed in the premotor cortex neural activation and suppression both before and during self-initiated vocalizations when marmosets, a highly vocal New World primate species, engaged in vocal exchanges with conspecifics. A novel finding of the present study is the discovery of a subpopulation of premotor cortex neurons that was activated by vocal production, but not by orofacial movement. These observations provide clear evidence of the premotor cortex's involvement in vocal production in a New World primate species.
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Hage SR, Gavrilov N, Nieder A. Developmental changes of cognitive vocal control in monkeys. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 219:1744-9. [PMID: 27252457 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.137653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2016] [Accepted: 03/15/2016] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The evolutionary origins of human language are obscured by the scarcity of essential linguistic characteristics in non-human primate communication systems. Volitional control of vocal utterances is one such indispensable feature of language. We investigated the ability of two monkeys to volitionally utter species-specific calls over many years. Both monkeys reliably vocalized on command during juvenile periods, but discontinued this controlled vocal behavior in adulthood. This emerging disability was confined to volitional vocal production, as the monkeys continued to vocalize spontaneously. In addition, they continued to use hand movements as instructed responses during adulthood. This greater vocal flexibility of monkeys early in ontogeny supports the neoteny hypothesis in human evolution. This suggests that linguistic capabilities were enabled via an expansion of the juvenile period during the development of humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen R Hage
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Natalja Gavrilov
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
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Ferrari PF, Gerbella M, Coudé G, Rozzi S. Two different mirror neuron networks: The sensorimotor (hand) and limbic (face) pathways. Neuroscience 2017; 358:300-315. [PMID: 28687313 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.06.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2017] [Revised: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The vast majority of functional studies investigating mirror neurons (MNs) explored their properties in relation to hand actions, and very few investigated how MNs respond to mouth actions or communicative gestures. Since hand and mouth MNs were recorded in two partially overlapping sectors of the ventral precentral cortex of the macaque monkey, there is a general assumption that they share a same neuroanatomical network, with the parietal cortex as a main source of visual information. In the current review, we challenge this perspective and describe the connectivity pattern of mouth MN sector. The mouth MNs F5/opercular region is connected with premotor, parietal areas mostly related to the somatosensory and motor representation of the face/mouth, and with area PrCO, involved in processing gustatory and somatosensory intraoral input. Unlike hand MNs, mouth MNs do not receive their visual input from parietal regions. Such information related to face/communicative behaviors could come from the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. Further strong connections derive from limbic structures involved in encoding emotional facial expressions and motivational/reward processing. These brain structures include the anterior cingulate cortex, the anterior and mid-dorsal insula, orbitofrontal cortex and the basolateral amygdala. The mirror mechanism is therefore composed and supported by at least two different anatomical pathways: one is concerned with sensorimotor transformation in relation to reaching and hand grasping within the traditional parietal-premotor circuits; the second one is linked to the mouth/face motor control and is connected with limbic structures, involved in communication/emotions and reward processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- P F Ferrari
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives - Marc Jeannerod, CNRS/Université Claude Bernard Lyon, 67 Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France; Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Unità di Neuroscienze, 39 Volturno, 43125 Parma, Italy.
| | - M Gerbella
- Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Unità di Neuroscienze, 39 Volturno, 43125 Parma, Italy; Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Center for Biomolecular Nanotechnologies, Lecce, Italy
| | - G Coudé
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives - Marc Jeannerod, CNRS/Université Claude Bernard Lyon, 67 Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France
| | - S Rozzi
- Dipartimento di Medicina e Chirurgia, Unità di Neuroscienze, 39 Volturno, 43125 Parma, Italy
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Vocal Learning via Social Reinforcement by Infant Marmoset Monkeys. Curr Biol 2017; 27:1844-1852.e6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2017] [Accepted: 05/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Genetic Factors and Orofacial Motor Learning Selectively Influence Variability in Central Sulcus Morphology in Chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes). J Neurosci 2017; 37:5475-5483. [PMID: 28473646 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2641-16.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2016] [Revised: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 02/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have been shown to learn the use of novel attention-getting (AG) sounds to capture the attention of humans as a means of requesting or drawing their attention to a desired object or food. There are significant individual differences in the use of AG sounds by chimpanzees and, here, we examined whether changes in cortical organization of the central sulcus (CS) were associated with AG sound production. MRI scans were collected from 240 chimpanzees, including 122 that reliably produced AG sounds and 118 that did not. For each subject, the depth of CS was quantified along the superior-inferior plane with specific interest in the inferior portion corresponding to the region of the motor cortex where the mouth and orofacial movements are controlled. Results indicated that CS depth in the inferior, but not superior, portion was significantly greater in chimpanzees that reliably produced AG sounds compared with those who did not. Quantitative genetic analyses indicated that overall CS surface area and depth were significantly heritable, particularly in the superior regions, but less so in the inferior and central portions. Further, heritability in CS depth was altered as a function of acquisition of AG sounds. The collective results suggest that learning to produce AG sounds resulted in region-specific cortical reorganization within the inferior portion of the CS, a finding previously undocumented in chimpanzees or any nonhuman primate.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Recent studies in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have shown that some can learn to produce novel sounds by configuring different orofacial movement patterns and these sounds are used in communicatively relevant contexts. Here, we examined the neuromorphological correlates in the production of these sounds in chimpanzees. We show that chimpanzees that have learned to produce these sounds show significant differences in central sulcus (CS) morphology, particularly in the inferior region. We further show that overall CS morphology and regions within the superior portion are significantly heritable, whereas central and inferior portions of the CS are not. The collective findings suggest chimpanzees exhibit cortical plasticity in regions of the brain that were central to the emergence of speech functions in humans.
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