Towards the evolutionary roots of vocal flexibility in primate communication: dynamics of vocal production development and vocal mechanics in a basal nonhuman primate (Microcebus murinus)

该项目的目的是探索第一次的过程中潜在的声乐灵活性的一个高度声乐和遗传基础灵长类动物的发展。我们小组以前的研究表明，鼠狐猴，一种遗传基础灵长类动物，在早期个体发育中表现出出乎意料的高程度的声音灵活性，在进一步的发展中减少。我们的项目提出了三个不同的和相互关联的工作包，我们将解决这些未探索的过程的主要组成部分。将使用26名发育中的婴儿及其13名母亲的数据集，通过早期和密集的发声采样以及标准化生物声学和视频行为方法，评估发育过程中牙牙学语和语音转换的存在和作用，以及潜在的决定因素，修改发育过程中的语音输出。 机器学习，包括深度神经网络方法，将被应用于研究发声发展的动态和潜在规则可以自动评估的程度。切除喉实验和相关的解剖和MicroCT研究的声道，以及在发声过程中的嘴和舌头的运动的高速录像将被执行，以揭示发声的生产和潜在的生物力学限制发声的灵活性的机制。数据集的整合将允许验证相应的方法。该项目为哺乳动物声音交流的比较研究提供了重要的经验基础，并有助于揭示灵长类动物交流中声音灵活性的进化根源，这是人类语音和语言进化的重要组成部分。

The aim of this project is to explore for the first time the processes underlying vocal flexibility of a highly vocal and phylogenetically basal primate across development. Previous research of our group revealed that the mouse lemur, a phylogenetically basal primate, exhibits an unexpectedly high degree of vocal flexibility in early ontogeny, which decreases in further development. Our project proposes three different and interrelated work packages by which we will address major components of these unexplored processes. The presence and role of babbling and vocal turn-taking during development, as well as potential determinants, modifying vocal output during development, will be assessed by early and dense sampling of vocal production and standardized bioacoustic and videografic behavioral approaches, using a dataset of 26 developing infants and their 13 mothers. Machine learning, including deep neural network approaches, will be applied to investigate the extent to which the dynamics of vocal development and potential rules can be assessed automatically. Excised larynx experiments and related anatomical and MicroCT-studies of the vocal tract as well as high-speed videorecordings of mouth and tongue movements during vocal production will be performed to uncover the mechanics of vocal production and potential biomechanical constraints in vocal flexibility. Integrating of datasets will allow the validation of the respective methods. The project provides an important empirical basis for comparative research on mammalian vocal communication and contributes to unravel the evolutionary roots of vocal flexibility in primate communication as an important building block for the evolution of human speech and language.