The evolution of speech: vision, rhythm, cooperation

Ghazanfar, Asif A.; Takahashi, Daniel Yasumasa

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2014.06.004

Cited by 93 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 119 publications

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“…In our scenario, the Mayer wave is the periodic signal that, with the addition of as-yet undefined source(s) of input, leads to a breach in the decision threshold, producing a vocalization with some probability greater than zero. In scenarios involving more than one individual, the input signal would include the facial and/or vocal expressions of conspecifics (Ghazanfar and Takahashi 2014). Considering the relationship between vocal onset and the ongoing phase of the Mayer wave, an indirect consequence of this slow, pervasive autonomic oscillation is to assist in the assembly of vocal behavior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arousal dynamics drive vocal production in marmoset monkeys

Borjon

Takahashi

Cervantes

et al. 2016

Journal of Neurophysiology

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

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arousal dynamics drive vocal production in marmoset monkeys

Borjon

Takahashi

Cervantes

et al. 2016

Journal of Neurophysiology

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“…Marmosets also take turns when they vocalize, exhibiting contingent and repeated exchanges of vocalizations between any two individuals—related or unrelated—for an extended period of time [15]. This turn-taking behavior by marmosets has the same universal features, and coupled oscillator properties, of human conversational turn-taking (albeit on a different timescale) [15,17,18]. …”

Section: The Marmoset Monkey Model Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

The autonomic nervous system is the engine for vocal development through social feedback

Ghazanfar

Zhang

2016

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

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At least one non-human primate species—the marmoset monkey—exhibits developmental processes similar to human vocal development. These processes include babbling-like early vocal output and a role for social feedback in changing this output into mature-sounding vocalizations. Such parallel behaviors provide a window through which we can begin to understand the physiological mechanisms for how early vocalizations are produced and shaped by social feedback. The latest work shows that the acoustic structure of babbling in infant monkeys is driven by oscillations of the autonomic nervous system. It is hypothesized that this autonomic nervous system rhythm is perturbed through vocal interactions between infants and parents. These interactions gradually accelerate the transformation of immature vocalizations into mature forms.

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“…Of course, there is another group of primates that has evolved an extraordinarily complex form of interactive vocal communication. In spite of the obvious parallels, however, the study of conversation in humans has had minimal crossover with duetting research (Salwiczek and Wickler, 2004;Logue and Stivers, 2012;Ghazanfar and Takahashi, 2014). It is our hope that with increased attention to the levels of organization, research on vocal duetting will help us understand this most human form of collective behavior.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Duetting as a Collective Behavior

Logue

Krupp

2016

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Mated birds of many species vocalize together, producing duets. Duetting behavior occurs at two levels of organization: the individual level and the pair level. Individuals initiate vocalizations, answer their mates' vocalizations, and control the structure and timing of their own vocalizations. Pairs produce duets that vary with respect to duration, temporal coordination, and phrase-type combinations, among other properties. To make sense of this hierarchical structure, organize duetting research, and identify new avenues of investigation, we advocate a "collective behavior" approach to the study of duets. We critically review key terminology in the duetting literature in light of this approach, and elucidate six insights that emerge from the collective behavior approach: (1) Individual-level behaviors describe pair-level behaviors, but the opposite is not true; (2) The level of organization informs how we test for the rules that govern behavior; (3) Functional hypotheses about duetting must distinguish individual from group characters; (4) Stimulus-response, cybernetics, and entrainment offer alternative hypotheses for the cognitive control of duetting behavior; (5) Avian duetting has the potential to be a model system for the ontogeny of vocal interaction; and (6) The collective behavior approach suggests new avenues of research. Ultimately, we argue that nearly every aspect of duetting research stands to benefit from adopting a collective behavior approach. This approach also has applications to other forms of interactive vocal communication in birds and primates, including humans.

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The evolution of speech: vision, rhythm, cooperation

Cited by 93 publications

References 119 publications

Arousal dynamics drive vocal production in marmoset monkeys

Arousal dynamics drive vocal production in marmoset monkeys

The autonomic nervous system is the engine for vocal development through social feedback

Duetting as a Collective Behavior

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