Newborn Infant Cry and Nonhuman Primate Vocalization

1971 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 718-727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Lieberman ◽  
Katherine S. Harris ◽  
Peter Wolff ◽  
Lorraine H. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Nonhuman Primate ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Newborn Infants ◽  
Open Boundary ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Infant Cry ◽  
Human Speech ◽  
Vocal Apparatus ◽  
Uniform Cross Section

Cries were recorded from 20 normal newborn infants from birth to the fourth day of life. Sound spectrograms showed that these cries were similar to the vocalizations of nonhuman primates insofar as the infants seemed to produce sounds by means of a uniform cross-section, schwalike, vocal tract configuration. Under certain conditions the laryngeal excitation was breathy and formant frequencies corresponding to an open boundary condition at the glottis were generated. The infants did not produce the range of sounds typical of adult human speech. This inability appears to reflect, in part, limitations imposed by the neonatal vocal apparatus, which, like the nonhuman primate vocal tract, appears to be inherently incapable of producing the full range of human speech. The initial restrictions on the sound-making repertoire of human infants are also evident in previous perceptually based transcriptions of the utterances of infants as well as in spectrographic and cineradiographic studies.

Neandertal vocal tract

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-429
Author(s):  
Louis-Jean Boë ◽  
Jean-Louis Heim ◽  
Christian Abry ◽  
Pierre Badin
Keyword(s):  
Oral Cavity ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Modern Human ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Human Speech ◽  
Definitive Answer ◽  
Vowel Space ◽  
Vocally Handicapped

Potential speech abilities constitute a key component in the description of the Neandertals and their relations with modern Homo Sapiens. Since Lieberman & Crelin postulated in 1971 the theory that “Neanderthal man did not have the anatomical prerequisites for producing the full range of human speech” their speech capability has been a subject of hot debate for over 30 years, and remains a controversial question. In this study, we first question the methodology adopted by Lieberman and Crelin, and we point out articulatory and acoustic flaws in the data and the modeling. Then we propose a general articulatory-acoustic framework for testing the acoustic consequences of the trade-off between oral and pharyngeal cavities. Specifically, following Honda & Tiede (1998), we characterize this trade-off by a Laryngeal Height Index (LHI) corresponding to the length ratio of the pharyngeal cavity to the oral cavity. Using an anthropomorphic articulatory model controlled by lips, jaw, tongue and larynx parameters, we can generate the Maximal Vowel Space (MVS), which is a triangle in the F1 / F2 plane, the three point vowels /a/, /i/, and /u/ being located at its three extremities. We sample the evolution of the position of the larynx from birth to adulthood with four different LHI values, and we show that the associated MVS are very similar. Therefore, the MVS of a given vocal tract does not depend on the LHI: gestures of the tongue body, lips and jaw allow compensations for differences in the ratio between the dimensions of the oral cavity and pharynx. We then infer that the vowel space of Neandertals (with high or low larynx) was potentially no smaller than that of a modern human and that Neandertals could produce all the vowels of the world’s languages. Neandertals were no more vocally handicapped than children at birth are. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that the lowering of the larynx and a concomitant increase in pharynx size are necessary evolutionary pre-adaptations for speech. However, since our study is strictly limited to the morphological and acoustic aspects of the vocal tract, we cannot offer any definitive answer to the question of whether Neandertals could produce human speech or not.

scholarly journals How vocal temporal parameters develop: a comparative study between humans and songbirds, two distantly related vocal learners

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miki Takahasi ◽  
Kazuo Okanoya ◽  
Reiko Mazuka
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Process ◽  
Developmental Change ◽  
Vocal Learning ◽  
Respiratory Control ◽  
Motor Patterns ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Infant Cry ◽  
Human Speech ◽  
Temporal Parameters ◽  
Species Specific

Abstract Human infants acquire motor patterns for speech during the first several years of their lives. Sequential vocalizations such as human speech are complex behaviors, and the ability to learn new vocalizations is limited to only a few animal species. Vocalizations are generated through the coordination of three types of organs: namely, vocal, respiratory, and articulatory organs. Moreover, sophisticated temporal respiratory control might be necessary for sequential vocalization involving human speech. However, it remains unknown how coordination develops in human infants and if this developmental process is shared with other vocal learners. To answer these questions, we analyzed temporal parameters of sequential vocalizations during the first year in human infants and compared these developmental changes to song development in the Bengalese finch, another vocal learner. In human infants, early cry was also analyzed as an innate sequential vocalization. The following three temporal parameters of sequential vocalizations were measured: note duration (ND), inter-onset interval, and inter-note interval (INI). The results showed that both human infants and Bengalese finches had longer INIs than ND in the early phase. Gradually, the INI and ND converged to a similar range throughout development. While ND increased until 6 months of age in infants, the INI decreased up to 60 days posthatching in finches. Regarding infant cry, ND and INI were within similar ranges, but the INI was more stable in length than ND. In sequential vocalizations, temporal parameters developed early with subsequent articulatory stabilization in both vocal learners. However, this developmental change was accomplished in a species-specific manner. These findings could provide important insights into our understanding of the evolution of vocal learning.

scholarly journals Distinct EEG Amplitude Suppression to Facial Gestures as Evidence for a Mirror Mechanism in Newborn Monkeys

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 1165-1172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pier Francesco Ferrari ◽  
Ross E. Vanderwert ◽  
Annika Paukner ◽  
Seth Bower ◽  
Stephen J. Suomi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mirror Neuron System ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Mirror Neuron ◽  
Newborn Infants ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Neuron System ◽  
Formidable Challenge ◽  
Facial Gestures ◽  
Neural Reactivity

At birth, human infants and newborns of other primate species demonstrate the capacity to attend and to respond to facial stimuli provided by a caregiver. Newborn infants are also capable of exhibiting a range of facial expressions. Identification of the neural underpinnings of these capacities represents a formidable challenge in understanding social development. One possible neuronal substrate is the mirror-neuron system assumed to activate shared motor cortical representations for both observation and production of actions. We tested this hypothesis by recording scalp EEG from 1- to 7-day-old newborn rhesus macaques who were observing and producing facial gestures. We found that 5–6 Hz EEG activity was suppressed both when the infants produced facial gestures and while they were observing facial gestures of a human experimenter, but not when they were observing nonbiological stimuli. These findings demonstrate the presence of neural reactivity for biological, communicatively relevant stimuli, which may be a likely signature of neuronal mirroring. The basic elements of the mirror-neuron system appear to operate from the very first days of life and contribute to the encoding of socially relevant stimuli.

Monochromatic surface waves at the interface between poroelastic and fluid halfspaces

2005 ◽  
Vol 462 (2067) ◽  
pp. 701-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bettina Albers
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waves ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
Open Boundary ◽  
Stoneley Wave ◽  
Poroelastic Media ◽  
Phase And Group Velocities ◽  
Leaky Rayleigh Wave ◽  
Surface Permeability ◽  
Group Velocities

The topic of the previous work of Albers and Wilmanski was the study of monochromatic surface waves at the boundary between a porous medium and a vacuum. This article is an extension of this research to the propagation of surface waves on the interface between a porous halfspace and a fluid halfspace. Results for phase and group velocities and attenuations are shown in dependence on both the frequency and the surface permeability. In contrast to classical papers on surface waves where only the limits of the frequency ω →0, ω →∞ and the limits of the surface permeability (fully sealed and fully open boundary) were studied, we investigate the problem in the full range of both parameters. For the analysis we use the ‘simple mixture model’ which is a simplification of the classical Biot model for poroelastic media. The construction of a solution is shown and the dispersion relation solved numerically. There exist three surface waves for this boundary: a leaky Rayleigh wave and both a true and a leaky Stoneley wave. The true Stoneley wave exists only in a limited range of the surface permeability.

Voice Production and Perception

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roza G. Kamiloğlu ◽  
Disa A. Sauter
Keyword(s):  
Vocal Communication ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Vocal Production ◽  
Vocal Apparatus ◽  
Nonverbal Vocalizations ◽  
Stage Process ◽  
Two Stages ◽  
The Voice

The voice is a prime channel of communication in humans and other animals. Voices convey many kinds of information, including physical characteristics like body size and sex, as well as providing cues to the vocalizing individual’s identity and emotional state. Vocalizations are produced by dynamic modifications of the physiological vocal production system. The source-filter theory explains how vocalizations are produced in two stages: (a) the production of a sound source in the larynx, and (b) the filtering of that sound by the vocal tract. This two-stage process largely applies to all primate vocalizations. However, there are some differences between the vocal production apparatus of humans as compared to nonhuman primates, such as the lower position of the larynx and lack of air sacs in humans. Thanks to our flexible vocal apparatus, humans can produce a range of different types of vocalizations, including spoken language, nonverbal vocalizations, whispering, and singing. A comprehensive understanding of vocal communication takes both production and perception of vocalizations into account. Internal processes are expressed in the form of specific acoustic patterns in the producer’s voice. In order to communicate information in vocalizations, those acoustic patterns must be acoustically registered by listeners via auditory perception mechanisms. Both production and perception of vocalizations are affected by psychobiological mechanisms as well as sociocultural factors. Furthermore, vocal production and perception can be impaired by a range of different disorders. Vocal production and hearing disorders, as well as mental disorders including autism spectrum disorder, depression, and schizophrenia, affect vocal communication.

scholarly journals Mirror neurons: From origin to function

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Cook ◽  
Geoffrey Bird ◽  
Caroline Catmur ◽  
Clare Press ◽  
Cecilia Heyes
Keyword(s):  
Associative Learning ◽  
Mirror Neurons ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Mirror Neuron ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
System Level ◽  
Sensorimotor Training ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Similar Action ◽  
Associative Account

AbstractThis article argues that mirror neurons originate in sensorimotor associative learning and therefore a new approach is needed to investigate their functions. Mirror neurons were discovered about 20 years ago in the monkey brain, and there is now evidence that they are also present in the human brain. The intriguing feature of many mirror neurons is that they fire not only when the animal is performing an action, such as grasping an object using a power grip, but also when the animal passively observes a similar action performed by another agent. It is widely believed that mirror neurons are a genetic adaptation for action understanding; that they were designed by evolution to fulfill a specific socio-cognitive function. In contrast, we argue that mirror neurons are forged by domain-general processes of associative learning in the course of individual development, and, although they may have psychological functions, they do not necessarily have a specific evolutionary purpose or adaptive function. The evidence supporting this view shows that (1) mirror neurons do not consistently encode action “goals”; (2) the contingency- and context-sensitive nature of associative learning explains the full range of mirror neuron properties; (3) human infants receive enough sensorimotor experience to support associative learning of mirror neurons (“wealth of the stimulus”); and (4) mirror neurons can be changed in radical ways by sensorimotor training. The associative account implies that reliable information about the function of mirror neurons can be obtained only by research based on developmental history, system-level theory, and careful experimentation.

The optimal choices of animal models of white matter injury

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Zeng ◽  
Huiqing Wang ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
Jun Tang ◽  
Jing Shi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Animal Models ◽  
Preterm Infants ◽  
Newborn Infants ◽  
White Matter Injury ◽  
Neurological Injury ◽  
Large Animal ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Large Animal Models

AbstractWhite matter injury, the most common neurological injury in preterm infants, is a major cause of chronic neurological morbidity, including cerebral palsy. Although there has been great progress in the study of the mechanism of white matter injury in newborn infants, its pathogenesis is not entirely clear, and further treatment approaches are required. Animal models are the basis of study in pathogenesis, treatment, and prognosis of white matter injury in preterm infants. Various species have been used to establish white matter injury models, including rodents, rabbits, sheep, and non-human primates. Small animal models allow cost-effective investigation of molecular and cellular mechanisms, while large animal models are particularly attractive for pathophysiological and clinical-translational studies. This review focuses on the features of commonly used white matter injury animal models, including their modelling methods, advantages, and limitations, and addresses some clinically relevant animal models that allow reproduction of the insults associated with clinical conditions that contribute to white matter injury in human infants.

Very young infants' responses to human and nonhuman primate vocalizations

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 553-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brock Ferguson ◽  
Danielle R. Perszyk ◽  
Sandra R. Waxman
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Acoustic Communication ◽  
Nonhuman Primate ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Young Infants ◽  
Primate Vocalizations ◽  
Human Specific

AbstractRecent evidence from very young human infants' responses to human and nonhuman primate vocalizations offers new insights – and brings new questions – to the forefront for those who seek to integrate primate-general and human-specific mechanisms of acoustic communication with theories of language acquisition.

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