The neurobiology of primate vocal communication

Ghazanfar, Asif A.; Eliades, Steven J.

doi:10.1016/j.conb.2014.06.015

Cited by 28 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…Even the largest axons do not increase in diameter to a These results suggest that in large-brained species, such as great apes and humans, synchronized spike-time arrival for the transfer of information between hemispheres is a significant challenge. These dynamics might explain why functions that depend on precise timing, such as the multisensory perception of vocal communication and gestures [38] and control of the hand will display hemispheric lateralization in function that becomes more apparent with brain enlargement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The corpus callosum in primates: processing speed of axons and the evolution of hemispheric asymmetry

et al. 2015

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Interhemispheric communication may be constrained as brain size increases because of transmission delays in action potentials over the length of axons. Although one might expect larger brains to have progressively thicker axons to compensate, spatial packing is a limiting factor. Axon size distributions within the primate corpus callosum (CC) may provide insights into how these demands affect conduction velocity. We used electron microscopy to explore phylogenetic variation in myelinated axon density and diameter of the CC from 14 different anthropoid primate species, including humans. The majority of axons were less than 1 mm in diameter across all species, indicating that conduction velocity for most interhemispheric communication is relatively constant regardless of brain size. The largest axons within the upper 95th percentile scaled with a progressively higher exponent than the median axons towards the posterior region of the CC. While brain mass among the primates in our analysis varied by 97-fold, estimates of the fastest cross-brain conduction times, as conveyed by axons at the 95th percentile, varied within a relatively narrow range between 3 and 9 ms across species, whereas cross-brain conduction times for the median axon diameters differed more substantially between 11 and 38 ms. Nonetheless, for both size classes of axons, an increase in diameter does not entirely compensate for the delay in interhemispheric transmission time that accompanies larger brain size. Such biophysical constraints on the processing speed of axons conveyed by the CC may play an important role in the evolution of hemispheric asymmetry.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The corpus callosum in primates: processing speed of axons and the evolution of hemispheric asymmetry

et al. 2015

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“…In nonhuman primates, inferior and superior temporal regions are likely homologues to the human face and voice areas, respectively, and are linked to a network for crossmodal convergence including prefrontal cortex and STS [103,104]. Dogs, like primates, show face sensitivity in their inferior temporal lobes [105].…”

Section: Sensory Modalities For Emotion Expressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotion Perception from Face, Voice, and Touch: Comparisons and Convergence

Schirmer

Adolphs

2017

Trends in Cognitive Sciences

295

189

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Historically, research on emotion perception has focused on facial expressions, and findings from this modality have come to dominate our thinking about other modalities. Here, we examine emotion perception through a wider lens by comparing facial with vocal and tactile processing. We review stimulus characteristics and ensuing behavioral and brain responses, and show that audition and touch do not simply duplicate visual mechanisms. Each modality provides a distinct input channel and engages partly non-overlapping neuroanatomical systems with different processing specializations (e.g., specific emotions versus affect). Moreover, processing of signals across the different modalities converges, first into multi- and later into amodal representations that enable holistic emotion judgments.

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“…Likewise, auditory cortex in marmosets, a vocal primate, has neurophysiological properties consistent with efference copy during vocalization though the pathway through which this modulation occurs is unknown (S. J. Eliades & Wang, 2012;Steven J. Eliades & Wang, 2002, 2013Ghazanfar & Eliades, 2014) . Finally, in vocal learning songbirds, efference copy between motor and auditory regions has been implicated in both online and offline (i.e., sleep related) vocal learning, vocal error correction, song maintenance, and listening (Brainard & Doupe, 2000;Dave & Margoliash, 2000;Margoliash, 2002;Schneider & Mooney, 2015;Sober & Brainard, 2009;Troyer & Doupe, 2000;Tumer & Brainard, 2007) .…”

Section: Neurobiological Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A core speech circuit between primary motor, somatosensory, and auditory cortex: evidence from connectivity and genetic descriptions

Skipper

Hasson

2017

Preprint

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What adaptations allow humans to produce and perceive speech so effortlessly? We show that speech is supported by a largely undocumented core of structural and functional connectivity between the central sulcus (CS or primary motor and somatosensory cortex) and the transverse temporal gyrus (TTG or primary auditory cortex). Anatomically, we show that CS and TTG cortical thickness covary across individuals and that they are connected by white matter tracts. Neuroimaging network analyses confirm the functional relevance and specificity of these structural relationships. Specifically, the CS and TTG are functionally connected at rest, during natural audiovisual speech perception, and are coactive over a large variety of linguistic stimuli and tasks. Importantly, across structural and functional analyses, connectivity of regions immediately adjacent to the TTG are with premotor and prefrontal regions rather than the CS. Finally, we show that this structural/functional CS-TTG relationship is mediated by a constellation of genes associated with vocal learning and disorders of efference copy. We propose that this core circuit constitutes an interface for rapidly exchanging articulatory and acoustic information and discuss implications for current models of speech.

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The neurobiology of primate vocal communication

Cited by 28 publications

References 79 publications

The corpus callosum in primates: processing speed of axons and the evolution of hemispheric asymmetry

The corpus callosum in primates: processing speed of axons and the evolution of hemispheric asymmetry

Emotion Perception from Face, Voice, and Touch: Comparisons and Convergence

A core speech circuit between primary motor, somatosensory, and auditory cortex: evidence from connectivity and genetic descriptions

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