1
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Harding CD, Walker KMM, Hackett TD, Herwig A, Peirson SN, Vyazovskiy VV. Ultrasonic vocalisation rate tracks the diurnal pattern of activity in winter phenotype Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus). J Comp Physiol B 2024; 194:383-401. [PMID: 38733409 PMCID: PMC11233387 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-024-01556-2] [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: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024]
Abstract
Vocalisations are increasingly being recognised as an important aspect of normal rodent behaviour yet little is known of how they interact with other spontaneous behaviours such as sleep and torpor, particularly in a social setting. We obtained chronic recordings of the vocal behaviour of adult male and female Djungarian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus) housed under short photoperiod (8 h light, 16 h dark, square wave transitions), in different social contexts. The animals were kept in isolation or in same-sex sibling pairs, separated by a grid which allowed non-physical social interaction. On approximately 20% of days hamsters spontaneously entered torpor, a state of metabolic depression that coincides with the rest phase of many small mammal species in response to actual or predicted energy shortages. Animals produced ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs) with a peak frequency of 57 kHz in both social and asocial conditions and there was a high degree of variability in vocalisation rate between subjects. Vocalisation rate was correlated with locomotor activity across the 24-h light cycle, occurring more frequently during the dark period when the hamsters were more active and peaking around light transitions. Solitary-housed animals did not vocalise whilst torpid and animals remained in torpor despite overlapping with vocalisations in social-housing. Besides a minor decrease in peak USV frequency when isolated hamsters were re-paired with their siblings, changing social contexts did not influence vocalisation behaviour or structure. In rare instances, temporally overlapping USVs occurred when animals were socially-housed and were grouped in such a way that could indicate coordination. We did not observe broadband calls (BBCs) contemporaneous with USVs in this paradigm, corroborating their correlation with physical aggression which was absent from our experiment. Overall, we find little evidence to suggest a direct social function of hamster USVs. We conclude that understanding the effects of vocalisations on spontaneous behaviours, such as sleep and torpor, will inform experimental design of future studies, especially where the role of social interactions is investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian D Harding
- Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep Medicine and Physiology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA.
| | - Kerry M M Walker
- Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Annika Herwig
- Institute of Neurobiology, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany
| | - Stuart N Peirson
- Sir Jules Thorn Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- The Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Oxford, UK
| | - Vladyslav V Vyazovskiy
- Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Sir Jules Thorn Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- The Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Oxford, UK
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2
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McCowan B, Hubbard J, Walker L, Sharpe F, Frediani J, Doyle L. Interactive bioacoustic playback as a tool for detecting and exploring nonhuman intelligence: "conversing" with an Alaskan humpback whale. PeerJ 2023; 11:e16349. [PMID: 38047015 PMCID: PMC10693240 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Here we report on a rare and opportunistic acoustic turn-taking with an adult female humpback whale, known as Twain, in Southeast Alaska. Post hoc acoustic and statistical analyses of a 20-min acoustic exchange between the broadcast of a recorded contact call, known as a 'whup/throp', with call responses by Twain revealed an intentional human-whale acoustic (and behavioral) interaction. Our results show that Twain participated both physically and acoustically in three phases of interaction (Phase 1: Engagement, Phase 2: Agitation, Phase 3: Disengagement), independently determined by blind observers reporting on surface behavior and respiratory activity of the interacting whale. A close examination of both changes to the latency between Twain's calls and the temporal matching to the latency of the exemplar across phases indicated that Twain was actively engaged in the exchange during Phase 1 (Engagement), less so during Phase 2 (Agitation), and disengaged during Phase 3 (Disengagement). These results, while preliminary, point to several key considerations for effective playback design, namely the importance of salient, dynamic and adaptive playbacks, that should be utilized in experimentation with whales and other interactive nonhuman species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda McCowan
- SVM: Population Health and Reproduction, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States
| | - Josephine Hubbard
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, United States
| | - Lisa Walker
- Grooved Whale Project, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Fred Sharpe
- Alaska Whale Foundation, Petersburg, Alaska, United States
| | - Jodi Frediani
- Jodi Frediani Photography, Santa Cruz, California, United States
| | - Laurance Doyle
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, United States
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3
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Bouchet H, Lemasson A, Collier K, Marker L, Schmidt-Küntzel A, Johnston B, Hausberger M. Early life experience and sex influence acoustic repertoire use in wild-born, but hand-reared, captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). Dev Psychobiol 2022; 64:e22309. [PMID: 36282750 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2021] [Revised: 05/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Early deprivation of adult influence is known to have long-lasting effects on social abilities, notably communication skills, as adults play a key role in guiding and regulating the behavior of youngsters, including acoustic repertoire use in species in which vocal production is not learned. Cheetahs grow up alongside their mother for 18 months, thus maternal influences on the development of social skills are likely to be crucial. Here, we investigated the impact of early maternal deprivation on vocal production and use in 12 wild-born cheetahs, rescued and subsequently hand-reared either at an early (less than 2 months) or a later stage of development. We could distinguish 16 sound types, produced mostly singly but sometimes in repeated or multitype sound sequences. The repertoire of these cheetahs did not differ fundamentally from that described in other studies on adult cheetahs, but statistical analyses revealed a concurrent effect of both early experience and sex on repertoire use. More specifically, early-reared males were characterized by a high proportion of Purr, Meow, and Stutter; early-reared females Mew, Growl, Hoot, Sneeze, and Hiss; late-reared males Meow, Mew, Growl, and Howl; and late-reared females mostly Meow. Our study demonstrates therefore the long-term effects of maternal deprivation on communication skills in a limited-vocal learner and its differential effect according to sex, in line with known social differences and potential differential maternal investment. More generally, it emphasizes the critical importance to consider the past history of the subjects (e.g., captive/wild-born, mother/hand-reared, early/late-mother-deprived, etc.) when studying social behavior, notably acoustic communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hélène Bouchet
- CNRS, EthoS (Ethologie animale et humaine), Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, UMR 6552, Paimpont, France
| | - Alban Lemasson
- CNRS, EthoS (Ethologie animale et humaine), Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, UMR 6552, Rennes, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
| | - Katie Collier
- CNRS, EthoS (Ethologie animale et humaine), Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, UMR 6552, Paimpont, France
| | | | | | | | - Martine Hausberger
- CNRS, EthoS (Ethologie animale et humaine), Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, UMR 6552, Paimpont, France
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4
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De Gregorio C, Zanoli A, Carugati F, Raimondi T, Valente D, Torti V, Miaretsoa L, Rajaonson A, Gamba M, Giacoma C. Parent-offspring turn-taking dynamics influence parents’ song structure and elaboration in a singing primate. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.906322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Parent-offspring interactions are essential to interpret animal social evolution and behavior, but their role in mediating acoustic communication in animals that interact vocally is still unclear. Increasing evidence shows that primate vocal communication is way more flexible than previously assumed, and research on this topic can provide further information on how the social environment shaped vocal plasticity during the evolution of the Primate order. Indris communicate through elaborated vocal emissions, usually termed songs. Songs are interactive vocal displays in which all members of the family group alternate their emissions, taking turns during chorusing events. We aimed to understand whether specific rules regulate the turn-taking of different group members and investigate the flexibility of indris’ vocal behavior when co-singing with their offspring. We found that social factors can influence the turn-taking organization in a chorus, as offspring were more likely to drop out from the parents’ duet than join in, and we speculate that overlap might signal competition by members of the same-sex. The duet between the reproductive pair was the most common type of singing organization, followed by a duet between mothers and sons and the triadic interaction between mother, father, and son. Interestingly, parents’ solo singing seems to stimulate offspring to vocalize, and we also found that mothers and fathers simplify, at least in part, song elaboration when chorusing with offspring. Our results indicate that indris can perform short-time adjustments to the number of co-emitters and their identity: our approach is advantageous in highlighting the multilevel influences on primate vocal flexibility. Moreover, it provides evidence that some aspects of our vocal plasticity were already present in the lemur lineage.
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5
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Haiduk F, Fitch WT. Understanding Design Features of Music and Language: The Choric/Dialogic Distinction. Front Psychol 2022; 13:786899. [PMID: 35529579 PMCID: PMC9075586 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.786899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Music and spoken language share certain characteristics: both consist of sequences of acoustic elements that are combinatorically combined, and these elements partition the same continuous acoustic dimensions (frequency, formant space and duration). However, the resulting categories differ sharply: scale tones and note durations of small integer ratios appear in music, while speech uses phonemes, lexical tone, and non-isochronous durations. Why did music and language diverge into the two systems we have today, differing in these specific features? We propose a framework based on information theory and a reverse-engineering perspective, suggesting that design features of music and language are a response to their differential deployment along three different continuous dimensions. These include the familiar propositional-aesthetic ('goal') and repetitive-novel ('novelty') dimensions, and a dialogic-choric ('interactivity') dimension that is our focus here. Specifically, we hypothesize that music exhibits specializations enhancing coherent production by several individuals concurrently-the 'choric' context. In contrast, language is specialized for exchange in tightly coordinated turn-taking-'dialogic' contexts. We examine the evidence for our framework, both from humans and non-human animals, and conclude that many proposed design features of music and language follow naturally from their use in distinct dialogic and choric communicative contexts. Furthermore, the hybrid nature of intermediate systems like poetry, chant, or solo lament follows from their deployment in the less typical interactive context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Haiduk
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - W. Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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6
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Greenfield MD, Aihara I, Amichay G, Anichini M, Nityananda V. Rhythm interaction in animal groups: selective attention in communication networks. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200338. [PMID: 34420386 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals communicating interactively with conspecifics often time their broadcasts to avoid overlapping interference, to emit leading, as opposed to following, signals or to synchronize their signalling rhythms. Each of these adjustments becomes more difficult as the number of interactants increases beyond a pair. Among acoustic species, insects and anurans generally deal with the problem of group signalling by means of 'selective attention' in which they focus on several close or conspicuous neighbours and ignore the rest. In these animals, where signalling and receiving are often dictated by sex, the process of selective attention in signallers may have a parallel counterpart in receivers, which also focus on close neighbours. In birds and mammals, local groups tend to be extended families or clans, and group signalling may entail complex timing mechanisms that allow for attention to all individuals. In general, the mechanisms that allow animals to communicate in groups appear to be fully interwoven with the basic process of rhythmic signalling. This article is part of the theme issue 'Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D Greenfield
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA.,Equipe Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/Neuro-PSI, CNRS UMR 9197, University of Lyon/Saint-Etienne, 42023 Saint Etienne, France
| | - Ikkyu Aihara
- Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8573, Japan
| | - Guy Amichay
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467 Konstanz, Germany.,Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Marianna Anichini
- Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study, 'Brain' Research Area, 27753 Delmenhorst, Germany.,Animal Physiology and Behavior Group, Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, 26129 Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Vivek Nityananda
- Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Henry Wellcome Building, Framlington Place, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
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7
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Communication Network Reflects Social Instability in a Wild Siamang (Symphalangus syndactylus) Population. INT J PRIMATOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-021-00227-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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8
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Pougnault L, Levréro F, Mulot B, Lemasson A. Breaking conversational rules matters to captive gorillas: A playback experiment. Sci Rep 2020; 10:6947. [PMID: 32332855 PMCID: PMC7181860 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-63923-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Across human cultures, conversations are regulated by temporal and social rules. The universality of conversational rules suggests possible biological bases and encourages comparisons with the communicative interactions of nonhuman animals. Unexpectedly, few studies have focused on other great apes despite evidence of proto-conversational rules in monkeys, thus preventing researchers from drawing conclusions on potential evolutionary origins of this behaviour. A previous study showed however that western lowland gorillas engage in soft call interactions that seem temporally- and socially-ruled. Indeed, interactions occurred mainly between individuals close in age who followed a preset response delay, thus preventing call overlap. Here, we experimentally investigated the presence of these rules in a captive gorilla group, using a violation-of-expectation paradigm. Head orientation responses suggest that the respect of response delay matters to subjects, but the importance of the interlocutors' age proximity appeared less clear. The intensity of the response varied with subjects' age in a context-dependent way, supporting a possible role of learning. Our findings support the growing number of studies highlighting the importance of vocal turn-taking in animals and a possible sociogenesis of this ability. The capacity to "converse" might have been a key step in the co-evolution of communication and complex sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loïc Pougnault
- Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine) - UMR 6552, F-35000, Rennes, France. .,Université de Lyon/Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Equipe Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, UMR5292, INSERM UMR_S 1028, Saint-Etienne, France. .,ZooParc de Beauval & Beauval Nature, 41110, Saint Aignan, France.
| | - Florence Levréro
- Université de Lyon/Saint-Etienne, CNRS, Equipe Neuro-Ethologie Sensorielle, ENES/CRNL, UMR5292, INSERM UMR_S 1028, Saint-Etienne, France
| | - Baptiste Mulot
- ZooParc de Beauval & Beauval Nature, 41110, Saint Aignan, France
| | - Alban Lemasson
- Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie animale et humaine) - UMR 6552, F-35000, Rennes, France
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9
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Hausberger M, Giacalone A, Harmand M, Craig AJFK, Henry L. Calling rhythm as a predictor of the outcome of vocal interactions: flight departure in pale-winged starling pairs. Naturwissenschaften 2019; 107:2. [PMID: 31797059 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-019-1658-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2019] [Revised: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 11/07/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Vocal communication plays an important role in the regulation of social interactions and the coordination of activities in many animal species. Synchrony is an essential part of the establishment and maintenance of pair bonds, but few reports have investigated decision-making at the pair level. We investigated temporal characteristics of call exchanges in pale-winged starlings (Onychognathus nabouroup) that could predict whether one, two, or neither members of a pair would take off. Our analysis of these interactions revealed that the overall rhythm of a call exchange, as well as the acceleration towards the end of an interaction, were significantly associated with the type of behavioural outcome. Faster rhythms were associated with higher probabilities that both birds would fly away. Our results confirm the findings of previous studies showing that higher rates of alarm calls indicate imminent departure and highlight the relationship between temporal features of vocal interactions and their outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martine Hausberger
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ethologie animale et humaine, Université de Rennes, Université de Caen-Normandie, UMR 6552, Caen, France
| | - Aline Giacalone
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ethologie animale et humaine, Université de Rennes, Université de Caen-Normandie, UMR, 6552, Caen, France
| | - Mariane Harmand
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ethologie animale et humaine, Université de Rennes, Université de Caen-Normandie, UMR, 6552, Caen, France
| | - Adrian J F K Craig
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa
| | - Laurence Henry
- CNRS, Laboratoire d'Ethologie animale et humaine, Université de Rennes, Université de Caen-Normandie, UMR, 6552, Caen, France.
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10
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Katsu N, Yamada K, Okanoya K, Nakamichi M. Temporal adjustment of short calls according to a partner during vocal turn-taking in Japanese macaques. Curr Zool 2019; 65:99-105. [PMID: 30697245 PMCID: PMC6347064 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 10/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Turn-taking is a common feature in human speech, and is also seen in the communication of other primate species. However, evidence of turn-taking in vocal exchanges within a short time frame is still scarce in nonhuman primates. This study investigated whether dynamic adjustment during turn-taking in short calls exists in Japanese macaques Macaca fuscata. We observed exchanges of short calls such as grunts, girneys, and short, low coos during social interactions in a free-ranging group of Japanese macaques. We found that the median gap between the turns of two callers was 250 ms. Call intervals varied among individuals, suggesting that call intervals were not fixed among individuals. Solo call intervals were shorter than call intervals interrupted by responses from partners (i.e., exchanges) and longer than those between the partner's reply and the reply to that call, indicating that the monkeys did not just repeat calls at certain intervals irrespective of the social situation. The differences in call intervals during exchanged and solo call sequences were explained by the response interval of the partner, suggesting an adjustment of call timing according to the tempo of the partner's call utterance. These findings suggest that monkeys display dynamic temporal adjustment in a short time window, which is comparable with turn-taking in human speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noriko Katsu
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazunori Yamada
- Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
| | - Kazuo Okanoya
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masayuki Nakamichi
- Graduate School of Human Sciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan
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11
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De Gregorio C, Zanoli A, Valente D, Torti V, Bonadonna G, Randrianarison RM, Giacoma C, Gamba M. Female indris determine the rhythmic structure of the song and sustain a higher cost when the chorus size increases. Curr Zool 2018; 65:89-97. [PMID: 30697244 PMCID: PMC6347063 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Among the behavioral traits shared by some nonhuman primate species and humans there is singing. Unfortunately, our understanding of animals’ rhythmic abilities is still in its infancy. Indris are the only lemurs who sing and live in monogamous pairs, usually forming a group with their offspring. All adult members of a group usually participate in choruses that are emitted regularly and play a role in advertising territorial occupancy and intergroup spacing. Males and females emit phrases that have similar frequency ranges but may differ in their temporal structure. We examined whether the individuals’ contribution to the song may change according to chorus size, the total duration of the song or the duration of the individual contribution using the inter-onset intervals within a phrase and between phrases. We found that the rhythmic structure of indri’s songs depends on factors that are different for males and females. We showed that females have significantly higher variation in the rhythm of their contribution to the song and that, changes according to chorus size. Our findings indicate that female indris sustain a higher cost of singing than males when the number of singers increases. These results suggest that cross-species investigations will be crucial to understanding the evolutionary frame in which such sexually dimorphic traits occurred.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara De Gregorio
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università di Torino, via Accademia Albertina, Torino, Italia
| | - Anna Zanoli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, della Vita e della Sostenibilità Ambientale, Università di Parma, Parma, Italia
| | - Daria Valente
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università di Torino, via Accademia Albertina, Torino, Italia
| | - Valeria Torti
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università di Torino, via Accademia Albertina, Torino, Italia
| | - Giovanna Bonadonna
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università di Torino, via Accademia Albertina, Torino, Italia
| | - Rose Marie Randrianarison
- Group d'Etude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar (GERP), Antananarivo, Madagascar.,Département de Anthropobiologie et Développement Durable, Université d'Antananarivo, Faculté des Sciences, Antananarivo, Madagascar
| | - Cristina Giacoma
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università di Torino, via Accademia Albertina, Torino, Italia
| | - Marco Gamba
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università di Torino, via Accademia Albertina, Torino, Italia
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12
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Pika S, Wilkinson R, Kendrick KH, Vernes SC. Taking turns: bridging the gap between human and animal communication. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20180598. [PMID: 29875303 PMCID: PMC6015850 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Language, humans' most distinctive trait, still remains a 'mystery' for evolutionary theory. It is underpinned by a universal infrastructure-cooperative turn-taking-which has been suggested as an ancient mechanism bridging the existing gap between the articulate human species and their inarticulate primate cousins. However, we know remarkably little about turn-taking systems of non-human animals, and methodological confounds have often prevented meaningful cross-species comparisons. Thus, the extent to which cooperative turn-taking is uniquely human or represents a homologous and/or analogous trait is currently unknown. The present paper draws attention to this promising research avenue by providing an overview of the state of the art of turn-taking in four animal taxa-birds, mammals, insects and anurans. It concludes with a new comparative framework to spur more research into this research domain and to test which elements of the human turn-taking system are shared across species and taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Pika
- Department of Primatology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Comparative Biocognition, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany
| | - Ray Wilkinson
- Department of Human Communication Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Kobin H Kendrick
- Department of Language and Linguistic Science, University of York, York, UK
| | - Sonja C Vernes
- Neurogenetics of Vocal Communication, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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13
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Luís AR, Alves IS, Sobreira FV, Couchinho MN, dos Santos ME. Brays and bits: information theory applied to acoustic communication sequences of bottlenose dolphins. BIOACOUSTICS 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2018.1443285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- A. R. Luís
- MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA – Instituto Universitário, Lisboa, Portugal
- Projecto Delfim – Centro Português de Estudo dos Mamíferos Marinhos, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - I. S. Alves
- MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA – Instituto Universitário, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - F. V. Sobreira
- MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA – Instituto Universitário, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - M. N. Couchinho
- MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA – Instituto Universitário, Lisboa, Portugal
- Projecto Delfim – Centro Português de Estudo dos Mamíferos Marinhos, Lisboa, Portugal
| | - M. E. dos Santos
- MARE – Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA – Instituto Universitário, Lisboa, Portugal
- Projecto Delfim – Centro Português de Estudo dos Mamíferos Marinhos, Lisboa, Portugal
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Bourvis N, Singer M, Saint Georges C, Bodeau N, Chetouani M, Cohen D, Feldman R. Pre-linguistic infants employ complex communicative loops to engage mothers in social exchanges and repair interaction ruptures. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:170274. [PMID: 29410790 PMCID: PMC5792867 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Language has long been identified as a powerful communicative tool among humans. Yet, pre-linguistic communication, which is common in many species, is also used by human infants prior to the acquisition of language. The potential communicational value of pre-linguistic vocal interactions between human infants and mothers has been studied in the past decades. With 120 dyads (mothers and three- or six-month-old infants), we used the classical Still Face Paradigm (SFP) in which mothers interact freely with their infants, then refrain from communication (Still Face, SF), and finally resume play. We employed innovative automated techniques to measure infant and maternal vocalization and pause, and dyadic parameters (infant response to mother, joint silence and overlap) and the emotional component of Infant Directed Speech (e-IDS) throughout the interaction. We showed that: (i) during the initial free play mothers use longer vocalizations and more e-IDS when they interact with older infants and (ii) infant boys exhibit longer vocalizations and shorter pauses than girls. (iii) During the SF and reunion phases, infants show marked and sustained changes in vocalizations but their mothers do not and (iv) mother-infant dyadic parameters increase in the reunion phase. Our quantitative results show that infants, from the age of three months, actively participate to restore the interactive loop after communicative ruptures long before vocalizations show clear linguistic meaning. Thus, auditory signals provide from early in life a channel by which infants co-create interactions, enhancing the mother-infant bond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadège Bourvis
- Service de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
- Equipe IMI2S, Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique, UMR 7222, Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, France
- Pôle de Psychiatrie Infanto-Juvénile, Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal Toulon-La Seyne, Toulon, France
| | - Magi Singer
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzlia, Israel
| | - Catherine Saint Georges
- Service de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
- Equipe IMI2S, Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique, UMR 7222, Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, France
| | - Nicolas Bodeau
- Equipe IMI2S, Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique, UMR 7222, Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, France
| | - Mohamed Chetouani
- Equipe IMI2S, Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique, UMR 7222, Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, France
| | - David Cohen
- Service de Psychiatrie de l'Enfant et de l'Adolescent, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
- Equipe IMI2S, Institut des Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique, UMR 7222, Université Paris-Sorbonne, Paris, France
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzlia, Israel
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D'Amelio PB, Trost L, Ter Maat A. Vocal exchanges during pair formation and maintenance in the zebra finch ( Taeniopygia guttata). Front Zool 2017; 14:13. [PMID: 28250800 PMCID: PMC5324246 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-017-0197-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2016] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pair compatibility affects the success of a pair; however, its causes and mechanisms are not fully understood. Vocal exchange may be very important for pair formation, coordinating pair activities, maintaining the pair bond and mate guarding. To investigate the role of vocal exchange in pair formation and pair maintenance, we explored whether new and established pairs of zebra finches differed in their calling relationships. We used individualised backpack microphones to examine the entire daily vocal emission of pairs, with parallel video recording of behaviour. RESULTS We found that in non-breeding, isolated pairs, a specific type of call, the "stack call", was the most common. Furthermore, all pairs used the stack call for precisely timed antiphonal exchange. We confirmed a difference between new and established pairs in social behaviour, with the former spending less time in physical contact. Notably, we found that this was mirrored by a difference in calling behaviour: members of new pairs converged over time on a more symmetric calling relationship. Additionally, we observed different response rates to partners among individuals, but a repeatable relationship of answering within pairs, which may reflect different degrees of motivation to answer the partner. CONCLUSIONS Our findings show that there is plasticity in calling behaviour and that it changes during pair formation, resulting in a coordinated stack call exchange with a similar number of answers between partners once the pair is established. It is possible that some of the calling relationship measurements that we present reflect pair compatibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Bruno D'Amelio
- Department Gahr - Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Lisa Trost
- Department Gahr - Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Andries Ter Maat
- Department Gahr - Behavioural Neurobiology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Straße, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
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Abstract
Understanding the biological foundations of language is vital to gaining insight into how the capacity for language may have evolved in humans. Animal models can be exploited to learn about the biological underpinnings of shared human traits, and although no other animals display speech or language, a range of behaviors found throughout the animal kingdom are relevant to speech and spoken language. To date, such investigations have been dominated by studies of our closest primate relatives searching for shared traits, or more distantly related species that are sophisticated vocal communicators, like songbirds. Herein I make the case for turning our attention to the Chiropterans, to shed new light on the biological encoding and evolution of human language-relevant traits. Bats employ complex vocalizations to facilitate navigation as well as social interactions, and are exquisitely tuned to acoustic information. Furthermore, bats display behaviors such as vocal learning and vocal turn-taking that are directly pertinent for human spoken language. Emerging technologies are now allowing the study of bat vocal communication, from the behavioral to the neurobiological and molecular level. Although it is clear that no single animal model can reflect the complexity of human language, by comparing such findings across diverse species we can identify the shared biological mechanisms likely to have influenced the evolution of human language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja C Vernes
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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17
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Fernandez MSA, Soula HA, Mariette MM, Vignal C. A New Semi-automated Method for Assessing Avian Acoustic Networks Reveals that Juvenile and Adult Zebra Finches Have Separate Calling Networks. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1816. [PMID: 27965602 PMCID: PMC5126114 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2016] [Accepted: 11/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social networks are often inferred from spatial associations, but other parameters like acoustic communication are likely to play a central role in within group interactions. However, it is currently difficult to determine which individual initiates vocalizations, or who responds to whom. To this aim, we designed a method that allows analyzing group vocal network while controlling for spatial networks, by positioning each group member in equidistant individual cages and analyzing continuous vocal interactions semi-automatically. We applied this method to two types of zebra finch groups, composed of either two adult females and two juveniles, or four young adults (juveniles from the first groups). Young often co-occur in the same social group as adults but are likely to have a different social role, which may be reflected in their vocal interactions. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that the social structure of the group influences the parameters of the group vocal network. We found that groups including juveniles presented periods with higher level of activity than groups composed of young adults. Using two types of analyses (Markov analysis and cross-correlation), we showed that juveniles as well as adults were more likely to respond to individuals of their own age-class (i.e. to call one after another, in terms of turn-taking, and within a short time-window, in terms of time delay). When juveniles turned into adulthood, they showed adult characteristics of vocal patterns. Together our results suggest that vocal behavior changes during ontogeny, and individuals are more strongly connected with individuals of the same age-class within acoustic networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie S A Fernandez
- Univ Lyon, UJM-Saint-Etienne, Centre Nationnal de la Recherche Scientifique, Neuro-PSI/ENES UMR9197Saint-Etienne, France; EPI BEAGLE INRIAVilleurbanne, France
| | - Hedi A Soula
- EPI BEAGLE INRIAVilleurbanne, France; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U1060 INSAVilleurbanne, France
| | - Mylene M Mariette
- Univ Lyon, UJM-Saint-Etienne, Centre Nationnal de la Recherche Scientifique, Neuro-PSI/ENES UMR9197Saint-Etienne, France; Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin UniversityGeelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Clémentine Vignal
- Univ Lyon, UJM-Saint-Etienne, Centre Nationnal de la Recherche Scientifique, Neuro-PSI/ENES UMR9197 Saint-Etienne, France
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Filippi P. Emotional and Interactional Prosody across Animal Communication Systems: A Comparative Approach to the Emergence of Language. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1393. [PMID: 27733835 PMCID: PMC5039945 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 08/31/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Across a wide range of animal taxa, prosodic modulation of the voice can express emotional information and is used to coordinate vocal interactions between multiple individuals. Within a comparative approach to animal communication systems, I hypothesize that the ability for emotional and interactional prosody (EIP) paved the way for the evolution of linguistic prosody - and perhaps also of music, continuing to play a vital role in the acquisition of language. In support of this hypothesis, I review three research fields: (i) empirical studies on the adaptive value of EIP in non-human primates, mammals, songbirds, anurans, and insects; (ii) the beneficial effects of EIP in scaffolding language learning and social development in human infants; (iii) the cognitive relationship between linguistic prosody and the ability for music, which has often been identified as the evolutionary precursor of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Piera Filippi
- Department of Artificial Intelligence, Vrije Universiteit BrusselBrussels, Belgium
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19
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Bouchet H, Koda H, Masataka N, Lemasson A. Vocal flexibility in nonhuman primates and the origins of human language. REVUE DE PRIMATOLOGIE 2016. [DOI: 10.4000/primatologie.2637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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