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Vocal communication is multi-sensorimotor coordination within and between individuals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2014

Daniel Y. Takahashi  and
Asif A. Ghazanfar
Daniel Y. Takahashi
Affiliation:
Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544. takahashiyd@gmail.com Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544.
Asif A. Ghazanfar
Affiliation:
Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544. takahashiyd@gmail.com Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544. asifg@princeton.edu www.princeton.edu/~asifg
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Abstract

Speech is an exquisitely coordinated interaction among effectors both within and between individuals. No account of human communication evolution that ignores its foundational multisensory characteristics and cooperative nature will be satisfactory. Here, we describe two additional capacities – rhythmic audiovisual speech and cooperative communication – and suggest that they may utilize the very same or similar circuits as those proposed for vocal learning.

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 37 , Issue 6 , December 2014 , pp. 572 - 573
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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