Primate Vocalization: A Psychobiological Approach

Abstract

Scientific inquiry, for the most part, can be described as parochial. Not only are there clear demarcations between broad disciplinary categories (i.e., anatomy, physiology, psychology), but subspecialties are common within disciplines. Modern technology has made possible a trend toward greater and greater specialization. In fact, there are now areas of scientific investigation that did not exist a few years ago. This increasing specialization and its concomitant reductionism is not without its pitfalls and problems. There is a tendency to move away from the basic evolutionary concept of living organisms as organized systems functioning and adapting within an ecosystem. The laboratory scientist often ignores the inherent organization of living systems in favor of an intense pursuit of his or her particular chosen bit of the biological puzzle. However, there are still disciplines that not only subscribe to the notion of living organisms as organized systems but have made a valiant attempt to bring this concept under laboratory scrutiny. Often, in order to identify these endeavors, a technique is used to combine two or three words into one. Thus, we have several flourishing disciplines described as psychoneuroimmunology, psychoneuroendocrinology, neurochemistry, physiosociology, and so on. For the investigator who attempts a more integrated approach to the broad biological and psychological universe, the demands are heavy. He or she is faced with the need to maintain credibility in several disciplines, each of which is advancing at an accelerated pace. However, we feel that the value of an integrated approach that crosses traditional disciplinary lines will be illustrated in a small way by this article and, we hope, by the series of articles presented in this symposium section of Child Development.

Maternal sensitivity as an external organizer for biobehavioral regulation in infancy

“…First, from an arousal model perspective, adrenocortical responses (an increase in cortisol) should co-occur with indications of behavior arousal. Whereas there is some evidence for concurrent response patterns (e.g., Gunnar, Fisch, Korsvik, & Donhowe, 1981;Levine, Wiener, Coe, Bayart, & Hayashi, 1987;Tennes & Carter, 1973), a general relation between adrenocortical activity and overt behavioral arousal may not be expected. Rather, at least in infancy, this relation seems to be moderated by type of stressor (Gunnar, 1991;Spangler & Scheubeck, 1993), habituation processes (Gunnar, Connors, & Isensee, 1989), or the biomedical state of the infant (Gunnar, Isensee, & Fust, 1987).…”

“…In addition, Gunnar (1991) concluded from her data that adrenocortical reactivity could be associated with both behavioral distress and behavioral withdrawal when an individual is faced with difficult or threatening situations he/she is unprepared to meet. Second, findings from animal studies highlight the role of coping behavior or control mechanisms for adrenocortical function (e.g., Levine et al, 1987;von Holst, 1986). The coping perspective suggests a relation between cortisol response and the availability of behavioral strategies in coping with the stressful situation.…”

Vocal Ontogeny in Macaques and Marmosets: Convergent and Divergent Lines of Development

“…Shrieking infants also frequently displayed fear grimaces. Levine et al (1987) argued that two types of "whoo" calls (equivalent to the 'coo' of other authors) are emitted when an infant is adjacent to its mother (but unable to make physical contact), whereas a third, totally different, type ofwhoo call is emitted during total isolation. The authors state that the former are shorter in duration, lower in intensity, and have a shorter modulation, while the isolation calls have a long duration, high intensity, and high frequency modulation The two types ofwhoo call elicited when the mother is present are never emitted in total isolation, and vice versa.…”

Maternal buffering of stress response in free‐ranging Pacific harbor seal pups in Alaska

“…In studies investigating evidence of emotional attachment between infants and mothers in primates and rodents, separation from the other member of the dyad results in immediate stress‐induced behaviors ( e.g ., high vocalization and activity rates) and stimulates the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis during threatening situations (Levine et al . ; Hennessy et al . , ).…”