scholarly journals Chimpanzee lip-smacks confirm primate continuity for speech-rhythm evolution

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 20200232 ◽  
Author(s):  
André S. Pereira ◽  
Eithne Kavanagh ◽  
Catherine Hobaiter ◽  
Katie E. Slocombe ◽  
Adriano R. Lameira
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Explanation ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Speech Rhythm ◽  
Population Analyses ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Systematic Group ◽  
Evolutionary Continuity

Speech is a human hallmark, but its evolutionary origins continue to defy scientific explanation. Recently, the open–close mouth rhythm of 2–7 Hz (cycles/second) characteristic of all spoken languages has been identified in the orofacial signals of several nonhuman primate genera, including orangutans, but evidence from any of the African apes remained missing. Evolutionary continuity for the emergence of speech is, thus, still inconclusive. To address this empirical gap, we investigated the rhythm of chimpanzee lip-smacks across four populations (two captive and two wild). We found that lip-smacks exhibit a speech-like rhythm at approximately 4 Hz, closing a gap in the evidence for the evolution of speech-rhythm within the primate order. We observed sizeable rhythmic variation within and between chimpanzee populations, with differences of over 2 Hz at each level. This variation did not result, however, in systematic group differences within our sample. To further explore the phylogenetic and evolutionary perspective on this variability, inter-individual and inter-population analyses will be necessary across primate species producing mouth signals at speech-like rhythm. Our findings support the hypothesis that speech recruited ancient primate rhythmic signals and suggest that multi-site studies may still reveal new windows of understanding about these signals' use and production along the evolutionary timeline of speech.

scholarly journals Further twists in gastropod shell evolution

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reuben Clements ◽  
Thor-Seng Liew ◽  
Jaap Jan Vermeulen ◽  
Menno Schilthuizen
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Logarithmic Spiral ◽  
Spiral Growth ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Gastropod Shell ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Taxonomic Groups ◽  
And Function ◽  
Shell Coiling

The manner in which a gastropod shell coils has long intrigued laypersons and scientists alike. In evolutionary biology, gastropod shells are among the best-studied palaeontological and neontological objects. A gastropod shell generally exhibits logarithmic spiral growth, right-handedness and coils tightly around a single axis. Atypical shell-coiling patterns (e.g. sinistroid growth, uncoiled whorls and multiple coiling axes), however, continue to be uncovered in nature. Here, we report another coiling strategy that is not only puzzling from an evolutionary perspective, but also hitherto unknown among shelled gastropods. The terrestrial gastropod Opisthostoma vermiculum sp. nov. generates a shell with: (i) four discernable coiling axes, (ii) body whorls that thrice detach and twice reattach to preceding whorls without any reference support, and (iii) detached whorls that coil around three secondary axes in addition to their primary teleoconch axis. As the coiling strategies of individuals were found to be generally consistent throughout, this species appears to possess an unorthodox but rigorously defined set of developmental instructions. Although the evolutionary origins of O. vermiculum and its shell's functional significance can be elucidated only once fossil intermediates and live individuals are found, its bewildering morphology suggests that we still lack an understanding of relationships between form and function in certain taxonomic groups.

scholarly journals Evolution of speech rhythm: a cross-species perspective

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ravignani ◽  
Simone Dalla Bella ◽  
Simone Falk ◽  
Chris Kello ◽  
Florencia Noriega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Speech Rhythm ◽  
Human Speech ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Animal Vocalizations

Cognition and communication, at the core of human speech rhythm, do not leave a fossil record. However, if the purpose is to understand the origin and evolution of speech rhythm, alternative methods are available. A powerful tool is comparative approach: studying the presence or absence of cognitive/behavioral traits in other species, drawing conclusions on which traits are shared between species, and which are recent human inventions. Here we apply this approach to traits related to human speech rhythm. Many species exhibit temporal structure in their vocalizations but little is known about the range of rhythmic structures perceived and produced, their biological and developmental bases, and communicative functions. We review the literatures on human and non-human studies of rhythm in speech and animal vocalizations to survey similarities and differences. We report important links between vocal perception and motor coordination, and the differentiation of rhythm based on hierarchical temporal structure. We extend this review to quantitative techniques useful for computing rhythmic structure in acoustic sequences and hence facilitating cross-species research. While still far from a full comparative cross-species perspective of speech rhythm, we are closer to fitting missing pieces of the puzzle.

scholarly journals Evolution of speech rhythm: a cross-species perspective

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ravignani ◽  
Simone Dalla Bella ◽  
Simone Falk ◽  
Chris Kello ◽  
Florencia Noriega ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Motor Coordination ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Speech Rhythm ◽  
Human Speech ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Evolution Of Speech ◽  
Animal Vocalizations

Cognition and communication, at the core of human speech rhythm, do not leave a fossil record. However, if the purpose is to understand the origin and evolution of speech rhythm, alternative methods are available. A powerful tool is comparative approach: studying the presence or absence of cognitive/behavioral traits in other species, drawing conclusions on which traits are shared between species, and which are recent human inventions. Here we apply this approach to traits related to human speech rhythm. Many species exhibit temporal structure in their vocalizations but little is known about the range of rhythmic structures perceived and produced, their biological and developmental bases, and communicative functions. We review the literatures on human and non-human studies of rhythm in speech and animal vocalizations to survey similarities and differences. We report important links between vocal perception and motor coordination, and the differentiation of rhythm based on hierarchical temporal structure. We extend this review to quantitative techniques useful for computing rhythmic structure in acoustic sequences and hence facilitating cross-species research. While still far from a full comparative cross-species perspective of speech rhythm, we are closer to fitting missing pieces of the puzzle.

scholarly journals Do human screams permit individual recognition?

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan W. M. Engelberg ◽  
Jay W. Schwartz ◽  
Harold Gouzoules
Keyword(s):  
Social Behavior ◽  
Discrimination Task ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Individual Recognition ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
The Social ◽  
Abundant Evidence ◽  
Adaptive Ability ◽  
Evolutionary Continuity

The recognition of individuals through vocalizations is a highly adaptive ability in the social behavior of many species, including humans. However, the extent to which nonlinguistic vocalizations such as screams permit individual recognition in humans remains unclear. Using a same-different vocalizer discrimination task, we investigated participants’ ability to correctly identify whether pairs of screams were produced by the same person or two different people, a critical prerequisite to individual recognition. Despite prior theory-based contentions that screams are not acoustically well-suited to conveying identity cues, listeners discriminated individuals at above-chance levels by their screams, including both acoustically modified and unmodified exemplars. We found that vocalizer gender explained some variation in participants’ discrimination abilities and response times, but participant attributes (gender, experience, empathy) did not. Our findings are consistent with abundant evidence from nonhuman primates, suggesting that both human and nonhuman screams convey cues to caller identity, thus supporting the thesis of evolutionary continuity in at least some aspects of scream function across primate species.

Diversity

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Troisi
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Cultural Relativism ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Stabilizing Selection ◽  
Behavioral Diversity ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Intrinsic Feature

From the perspective of evolutionary biology, diversity is an intrinsic feature of any living species and a target on which natural selection can act in opposite ways: either decreasing it (stabilizing selection) or increasing it (diversifying selection). This duality is reflected in our emotional attitude toward diversity. This chapter summarizes current knowledge on the evolutionary origins of emotional reactions to physical and behavioral diversity in human cultures. After a preliminary discussion of “alternative strategies” observed by ethologists in primate species, the chapter explores the biological roots of intolerance, xenophobia, racism, discrimination, and other forms of rejection of diversity. Findings that have linked ethnocentrism to primitive defenses against infectious diseases are reviewed. Subsequently, the chapter describes how a bias toward “normality” has always lived alongside a powerful attraction to diversity. The chapter closes with reflections based on recent psychiatric and anthropological reports that show how the issue of tolerance of cultural diversity is an unsolved problem, in spite of reassuring claims of the advocates of cultural relativism.

scholarly journals Evolutionary Theory and Criminology

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Walsh ◽  
Cody Jorgensen
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Criminal Offending ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Criminological Theories

Evolutionary criminology is part of a broader biosocial approach to criminology. The evolutionary perspective can help organize the hodgepodge of extant, and often contradictory, criminological theories in a coherent way, thus providing a more robust explanation of criminality. This chapter demonstrates the relevance of evolutionary theory to criminology, discusses the evolutionary origins of both prosocial and antisocial traits, and shows that evolutionary theory is invaluable to understanding two key issues that have been impervious to solution using the standard social science model—the sex ratio in criminal offending and the age–crime curve. The chapter also provides a discussion on the distal causes of traits conducive to criminal behavior as well as a Darwinian explanation of why humans can be altruistic toward some humans yet victimize others.

scholarly journals Similarities and differences of face and body perception in the dog (Canis familiaris) and human brain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Boch ◽  
Isabella C. Wagner ◽  
Sabrina Karl ◽  
Ludwig Huber ◽  
Claus Lamm
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Canis Familiaris ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Body Perception ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
Perceptual Systems

AbstractAccurately recognizing other individuals is fundamental for successful social interactions. While the neural underpinnings of this skill have been studied extensively in humans, less is known about the evolutionary origins of the brain areas specialized for recognising faces or bodies. Studying dogs (Canis familiaris), a non-primate species with the ability to perceive faces and bodies similarly to humans, promises insights into how visuo-social perception has evolved in mammals. We investigated the neural correlates of face and body perception in dogs (N = 15) and humans (N = 40) using functional MRI. Combining uni- and multivariate analysis approaches, we identified activation levels and patterns that suggested potentially homologous occipito-temporal brain regions in both species responding to faces and bodies compared to inanimate objects. Crucially, only human brain regions showed activation differences between faces and bodies and partly responded more strongly to humans compared to dogs. Moreover, only dogs represented both faces and dog bodies in olfactory regions. Overall, these findings advance our understanding of the similarities and differences in brain function between two phylogenetically distant mammal species. This likely reflects differences in the perceptual systems these species rely on to recognize others, and provides important insights into the foundations of social cognition and behaviour.

scholarly journals An Evolutionary Perspective for Network Centric Therapy through Wearable and Wireless Systems for Reflex, Gait, and Movement Disorder Assessment with Machine Learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert LeMoyne ◽  
Timothy Mastroianni
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Inertial Sensors ◽  
Wireless Systems ◽  
Human Movement ◽  
Reflex Response ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
Machine Learning Classification ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Processing Resources ◽  
Future Concepts

Wearable and wireless systems have progressively evolved to achieve the capabilities of Network Centric Therapy. Network Centric Therapy comprises the application of wearable and wireless inertial sensors for the quantification of human movement, such as reflex response, gait, and movement disorders, with machine learning classification representing advanced diagnostics. With wireless access to a functional Cloud computing environment Network Centric Therapy enables subjects to be evaluated at any location of choice with Internet connectivity and expert medical post-processing resources situated anywhere in the world. The evolutionary origins leading to the presence of Network Centric Therapy are detailed. With the historical perspective and state of the art presented, future concepts are addressed.

scholarly journals The evolution of altruistic social preferences in human groups

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1687) ◽  
pp. 20150097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan B. Silk ◽  
Bailey R. House
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Breeding ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Preferences ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Selective Pressures ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
The Social ◽  
Cooperatively Breeding ◽  
Animal Societies

In this paper, we consider three hypotheses to account for the evolution of the extraordinary capacity for large-scale cooperation and altruistic social preferences within human societies. One hypothesis is that human cooperation is built on the same evolutionary foundations as cooperation in other animal societies, and that fundamental elements of the social preferences that shape our species' cooperative behaviour are also shared with other closely related primates. Another hypothesis is that selective pressures favouring cooperative breeding have shaped the capacity for cooperation and the development of social preferences, and produced a common set of behavioural dispositions and social preferences in cooperatively breeding primates and humans. The third hypothesis is that humans have evolved derived capacities for collaboration, group-level cooperation and altruistic social preferences that are linked to our capacity for culture. We draw on naturalistic data to assess differences in the form, scope and scale of cooperation between humans and other primates, experimental data to evaluate the nature of social preferences across primate species, and comparative analyses to evaluate the evolutionary origins of cooperative breeding and related forms of behaviour.

Motor planning in primates

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 244-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Weiss ◽  
Kate M. Chapman ◽  
Jason D. Wark ◽  
David A. Rosenbaum
Keyword(s):  
Tool Use ◽  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Goal Maintenance ◽  
Evolutionary Origins ◽  
Innovative Tool ◽  
Evolutionary Foundation

AbstractVaesen asks whether goal maintenance and planning ahead are critical for innovative tool use. We suggest that these aptitudes may have an evolutionary foundation in motor planning abilities that span all primate species. Anticipatory effects evidenced in the reaching behaviors of lemurs, tamarins, and rhesus monkeys similarly bear on the evolutionary origins of foresight as it pertains to tool use.

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