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Tamura M, Akomo-Okoue EF. Hand preference in unimanual and bimanual coordinated tasks in wild western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) feeding on African ginger (Zingiberaceae). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175:531-545. [PMID: 33429467 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2020] [Revised: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Bimanual coordinated behaviors are critical for detecting robust individual hand preference in nonhuman primates but are particularly challenging to observe in the wild. This study focuses on spontaneous feeding behavior on African ginger (Aframomum sp. and Renealmia sp.), which involves a unimanual task (reaching and pulling out a ginger stem) and a bimanual coordinated task (extracting pith from a ginger stem) by wild western lowland gorillas. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study subjects were 21 gorillas in the Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon. We examined whether they exhibit significant hand preference at the individual and group levels for both tasks. RESULTS Sixteen gorillas showed significant hand preference in the unimanual task, whereas all 21 individuals showed significant hand preference in the bimanual coordinated task. Hand preference was significantly stronger in the bimanual coordinated task than in the unimanual task. It is noteworthy that gorillas showed a significant right-hand preference at the group level for the bimanual task (roughly 70% of the subjects). DISCUSSION This study confirmed that bimanual coordinated tasks are more sensitive in detecting hand preferences in nonhuman primates. In addition to the bimanual nature of the task, the precision grip for processing and the importance of African ginger as a food resource might influence the expression of hand preference. Evidence of a group-level right-hand preference may support the "postural origins theory." Because all wild African great apes feed on the pith of African ginger, comparing this task and its hand preferences can contribute toward a better understanding of the evolution of handedness in Hominidae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaya Tamura
- Laboratory of Human Evolution Studies, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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Abstract
Comparative studies on brain asymmetry date back to the 19th century but then largely disappeared due to the assumption that lateralization is uniquely human. Since the reemergence of this field in the 1970s, we learned that left-right differences of brain and behavior exist throughout the animal kingdom and pay off in terms of sensory, cognitive, and motor efficiency. Ontogenetically, lateralization starts in many species with asymmetrical expression patterns of genes within the Nodal cascade that set up the scene for later complex interactions of genetic, environmental, and epigenetic factors. These take effect during different time points of ontogeny and create asymmetries of neural networks in diverse species. As a result, depending on task demands, left- or right-hemispheric loops of feedforward or feedback projections are then activated and can temporarily dominate a neural process. In addition, asymmetries of commissural transfer can shape lateralized processes in each hemisphere. It is still unclear if interhemispheric interactions depend on an inhibition/excitation dichotomy or instead adjust the contralateral temporal neural structure to delay the other hemisphere or synchronize with it during joint action. As outlined in our review, novel animal models and approaches could be established in the last decades, and they already produced a substantial increase of knowledge. Since there is practically no realm of human perception, cognition, emotion, or action that is not affected by our lateralized neural organization, insights from these comparative studies are crucial to understand the functions and pathologies of our asymmetric brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Felix Ströckens
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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Bridgeman JM, Tattersall GJ. Tortoises develop and overcome position biases in a reversal learning task. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:265-275. [PMID: 30707365 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01243-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Revised: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The capability of animals to alter their behaviour in response to novel or familiar stimuli, or behavioural flexibility, is strongly associated with their ability to learn in novel environments. Reptiles are capable of learning complex tasks and offer a unique opportunity to study the relationship between visual proficiency and behavioural flexibility. The focus of this study was to investigate the behavioural flexibility of red-footed tortoises and their ability to perform reversal learning. Reversal learning involves learning a particular discrimination task, after which the previously rewarded cue is reversed and then subjects perform the task with new reward contingencies. Red-footed tortoises were required to learn to recognise and approach visual cues within a Y-maze. Once subjects learned the visual discrimination, tortoises were required to successfully learn four reversals. Tortoises required significantly more trials to reach criterion (80% correct) in the first reversal, indicating the difficulty of unlearning the positive stimulus presented during training. Nevertheless, subsequent reversals required a similar number of sessions to the training stage, demonstrating that reversal learning improved up to a point. All subjects tested developed a position bias within the Y-maze that was absent prior to training, but most were able to exhibit reversal learning. Red-footed tortoises primarily adopted a win-stay choice strategy while learning the discrimination without much evidence for a lose-shift choice strategy, which may explain limits to their behavioural flexibility. However, improving performance across reversals while simultaneously overcoming a position bias provides insights into the cognitive abilities of tortoises.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin M Bridgeman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Glenn J Tattersall
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada.
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Morino L, Uchikoshi M, Bercovitch F, Hopkins WD, Matsuzawa T. Tube task hand preference in captive hylobatids. Primates 2017; 58:403-412. [DOI: 10.1007/s10329-017-0605-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Zhao D, Wang Y, Wei X. Hand preference during bimanual coordinated task in northern pig-tailed macaques Macaca leonina. Curr Zool 2016; 62:385-391. [PMID: 29491927 PMCID: PMC5804279 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zow064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2015] [Accepted: 08/29/2015] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
In humans, handedness is one defining characteristic regardless of cultures and ethnicity. Population-level right handedness is considered to be related with the evolution of left hemisphere for manual control and language. In order to further understand evolutionary origins of human cerebral lateralization and its behavioral adaptation, standardized measures on hand preference are required to make reliable comparison in nonhuman primate species. In this study, we present the first evidence on hand preference during bimanual coordinated tasks in northern pig-tailed macaques Macaca leonina. The classical TUBE task was applied to examine hand preference among nine individuals from Tianjin Zoo of China. We recorded and made analysis on both frequency and bout data on manual laterality. The results consistently show that subjects displayed strong individual hand preferences, whereas no significant group-level handedness was found. There were no sex and age significant differences on both direction and strength of hand preference. The M. leonina preferred to use the index finger to extract the baited food inside the tube. Our findings fill the knowledge gap on primate handedness, and efficiently affirm the robustness of the TUBE task as one efficient measure of hand preference in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dapeng Zhao
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Animal and Plant Resistance, College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387.,Wildlife Institute, Beijing Forestry University, and.,Eco-Bridge Continental, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yuan Wang
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Animal and Plant Resistance, College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387
| | - Xueyan Wei
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Animal and Plant Resistance, College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, 300387
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Salmi R, Rahman U, Doran-Sheehy DM. Hand Preference for a Novel Bimanual Coordinated Task During Termite Feeding in Wild Western Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). INT J PRIMATOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-016-9894-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Meguerditchian A, Phillips KA, Chapelain A, Mahovetz LM, Milne S, Stoinski T, Bania A, Lonsdorf E, Schaeffer J, Russell J, Hopkins WD. Handedness for Unimanual Grasping in 564 Great Apes: The Effect on Grip Morphology and a Comparison with Hand Use for a Bimanual Coordinated Task. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1794. [PMID: 26635693 PMCID: PMC4655229 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A number of factors have been proposed to influence within and between species variation in handedness in non-human primates. In the initial study, we assessed the influence of grip morphology on hand use for simple reaching in a sample of 564 great apes including 49 orangutans Pongo pygmaeus, 66 gorillas Gorilla gorilla, 354 chimpanzees Pan troglodytes and 95 bonobos Pan paniscus. Overall, we found a significant right hand bias for reaching. We also found a significant effect of the grip morphology of hand use. Grasping with the thumb and index finger was more prevalent in the right compared to left hand in all four species. There was no significant sex effect on the patterns of handedness. In a subsample of apes, we also compared consistency in hand use for simple reaching with previously published data on a task that measures handedness for bimanual actions. We found that the ratio of subjects with consistent right compared to left hand use was more prevalent in bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas but not orangutans. However, for all species, the proportion of subjects with inconsistent hand preferences between the tasks was relatively high suggesting some measures may be more sensitive in assessing handedness than others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrien Meguerditchian
- CNRS, Laboratory of Cognitive Psychology, UMR 7290, Brain and Language Research Institute, Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France
| | | | - Amandine Chapelain
- CNRS, Laboratoire d’Éthologie Animale et Humaine EthoS, UMR 6552, Université de Rennes 1, Paimpont, France
| | | | - Scott Milne
- Department of Biology, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA
| | - Tara Stoinski
- The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Elizabeth Lonsdorf
- Department of Psychology, Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, USA
| | - Jennifer Schaeffer
- Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jamie Russell
- Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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Bardo A, Pouydebat E, Meunier H. Do bimanual coordination, tool use, and body posture contribute equally to hand preferences in bonobos? J Hum Evol 2015; 82:159-69. [PMID: 25870160 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2012] [Revised: 01/13/2015] [Accepted: 02/19/2015] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Approximately 90% of the human population is right-handed. The emergence of this hand preference in humans is thought to be linked to the ability to execute complex tasks and habitual bipedalism. In order to test these hypotheses, the present study explored, for the first time, hand preference in relation to both body posture (seated and bipedal) and task complexity (bimanual coordination and two tool use tasks of different complexity) in bonobos (Pan paniscus). Few studies have explored the effects of both posture and task complexity on handedness, and investigations with bonobos are scarce, particularly studies on tool use. Our study aims to overcome such a gap by addressing two main questions: 1) Does a bipedal posture increase the strength of hand preference and/or create a directional bias to the use of the right hand? 2) Independent of body posture, does task complexity increase the strength of the hand preference and/or create a directional bias to the use of the right hand? Our results show that independent of body posture, the more complex the task, the more lateralization occurred. Moreover, subjects tended to be right-handed for tasks involving tool use. However, posture had no significant effect on hand preference in the tasks tested here. Therefore, for a given task, bonobos were not more lateralized in a bipedal posture than in a seated one. Task complexity might thus have contributed more than bipedal posture to the emergence of human lateralization and the preponderance of right-handedness, although a larger sample size and more data are needed to be conclusive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ameline Bardo
- UMR 7179 - CNRS/MNHN, Adaptive Mechanisms: From Organisms to Communities, Department of Ecology and Management of Biodiversity, 55 rue Buffon, 75321 Paris Cedex 5, France.
| | - Emmanuelle Pouydebat
- UMR 7179 - CNRS/MNHN, Adaptive Mechanisms: From Organisms to Communities, Department of Ecology and Management of Biodiversity, 55 rue Buffon, 75321 Paris Cedex 5, France
| | - Hélène Meunier
- Centre de Primatologie de l'Université de Strasbourg, Fort Foch, 67207 Niederhausbergen, France; Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, Université de Strasbourg, France
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Pouydebat E, Borel A, Chotard H, Fragaszy D. Hand preference in fast-moving versus slow-moving actions in capuchin, Sapajus spp., and squirrel monkeys, Saimiri sciureus. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Sfar N, Mangalam M, Kaumanns W, Singh M. A comparative assessment of hand preference in captive red howler monkeys, Alouatta seniculus and yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys, Sapajus xanthosternos. PLoS One 2014; 9:e107838. [PMID: 25271639 PMCID: PMC4182683 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2014] [Accepted: 08/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
There are two major theories that attempt to explain hand preference in non-human primates-the 'task complexity' theory and the 'postural origins' theory. In the present study, we proposed a third hypothesis to explain the evolutionary origin of hand preference in non-human primates, stating that it could have evolved owing to structural and functional adaptations to feeding, which we refer to as the 'niche structure' hypothesis. We attempted to explore this hypothesis by comparing hand preference across species that differ in the feeding ecology and niche structure: red howler monkeys, Alouatta seniculus and yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys, Sapajus xanthosternos. The red howler monkeys used the mouth to obtain food more frequently than the yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys. The red howler monkeys almost never reached for food presented on the opposite side of a wire mesh or inside a portable container, whereas the yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys reached for food presented in all four spatial arrangements (scattered, on the opposite side of a wire mesh, inside a suspended container, and inside a portable container). In contrast to the red howler monkeys that almost never acquired bipedal and clinging posture, the yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys acquired all five body postures (sitting, bipedal, tripedal, clinging, and hanging). Although there was no difference between the proportion of the red howler monkeys and the yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys that preferentially used one hand, the yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys exhibited an overall weaker hand preference than the red howler monkeys. Differences in hand preference diminished with the increasing complexity of the reaching-for-food tasks, i.e., the relatively more complex tasks were perceived as equally complex by both the red howler monkeys and the yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys. These findings suggest that species-specific differences in feeding ecology and niche structure can influence the perception of the complexity of the task and, consequently, hand preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasibah Sfar
- Department of Biology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Madhur Mangalam
- Biopsychology Laboratory and Institution of Excellence, University of Mysore, Mysore, India
| | | | - Mewa Singh
- Biopsychology Laboratory and Institution of Excellence, University of Mysore, Mysore, India
- Evolutionary & Organismal Biology Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, India
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Heuzé Y, Balzeau A. Asymmetry of the midfacial skeleton of eastern lowland gorillas (Gorilla beringei graueri) and potential association with frontal lobe asymmetries. J Hum Evol 2014; 74:123-129. [PMID: 24742879 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2013] [Revised: 03/11/2014] [Accepted: 03/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yann Heuzé
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
| | - Antoine Balzeau
- Équipe de Paléontologie Humaine, UMR 7194 du CNRS, Département de Préhistoire du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
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Tabiowo E, Forrester GS. Structured bimanual actions and hand transfers reveal population-level right-handedness in captive gorillas. Anim Behav 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Meguerditchian A, Vauclair J, Hopkins WD. On the origins of human handedness and language: A comparative review of hand preferences for bimanual coordinated actions and gestural communication in nonhuman primates. Dev Psychobiol 2013; 55:637-50. [DOI: 10.1002/dev.21150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2013] [Accepted: 06/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jacques Vauclair
- Research Center in Psychology of Cognition, Language & Emotion; Aix-Marseille University; 13621; Aix-en-Provence; France
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Maille A, Rossard A, Blois-Heulin C. Manual laterality and strategy use for a coordinated bimanual task requiring precise and power grip in guenons and mangabeys. Am J Primatol 2013; 75:1096-107. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2012] [Revised: 04/08/2013] [Accepted: 05/01/2013] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Audrey Maille
- UMR 6552 Ethos «Ethologie Animale et Humaine»; Université de Rennes 1 - CNRS, Station Biologique de Paimpont; France
| | - Arnaud Rossard
- UMR 6552 Ethos «Ethologie Animale et Humaine»; Université de Rennes 1 - CNRS, Station Biologique de Paimpont; France
| | - Catherine Blois-Heulin
- UMR 6552 Ethos «Ethologie Animale et Humaine»; Université de Rennes 1 - CNRS, Station Biologique de Paimpont; France
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Phillips KA, Thompson CR. Hand preference for tool-use in capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) is associated with asymmetry of the primary motor cortex. Am J Primatol 2013; 75:435-40. [PMID: 22987442 PMCID: PMC3527644 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2012] [Revised: 08/07/2012] [Accepted: 08/20/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Skilled motor actions are associated with handedness and neuroanatomical specializations in humans. Recent reports have documented similar neuroanatomical asymmetries and their relationship to hand preference in some nonhuman primate species, including chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys. We investigated whether capuchins displayed significant hand preferences for a tool-use task and whether such preferences were associated with motor-processing regions of the brain. Handedness data on a dipping tool-use task and high-resolution 3T MRI scans were collected from 15 monkeys. Capuchins displayed a significant group-level left-hand preference for this type of tool use, and handedness was associated with asymmetry of the primary motor cortex. Left-hand preferent individuals displayed a deeper central sulcus in the right hemisphere. Our results suggest that capuchins show an underlying right-hemisphere bias for skilled movement.
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Fitch WT, Braccini SN. Primate laterality and the biology and evolution of human handedness: a review and synthesis. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2013; 1288:70-85. [DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- W. Tecumseh Fitch
- Department of Cognitive Biology; University of Vienna; Vienna Austria
| | - Stephanie N. Braccini
- Department of Anthropology; Washington University and Saint Louis Zoo; Saint Louis Missouri
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Zhao D, Hopkins WD, Li B. Handedness in nature: first evidence on manual laterality on bimanual coordinated tube task in wild primates. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2012; 148:36-44. [PMID: 22410843 PMCID: PMC3342595 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2011] [Accepted: 01/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Handedness is a defining feature of human manual skill and understanding the origin of manual specialization remains a central topic of inquiry in anthropology and other sciences. In this study, we examined hand preference in a sample of wild primates on a task that requires bimanual coordinated actions (tube task) that has been widely used in captive primates. The Sichuan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana) is an arboreal Old World monkey species that is endemic to China, and 24 adult individuals from the Qinling Mountains of China were included for the analysis of hand preference in the tube task. All subjects showed strong individual hand preferences and significant group-level left-handedness was found. There were no significant differences between males and females for either direction or strength of hand preference. Strength of hand preferences of adults was significantly greater than juveniles. Use of the index finger to extract the food was the dominant extractive-act. Our findings represent the first evidence of population-level left-handedness in wild Old World monkeys and broaden our knowledge on evaluating primate hand preference via experimental manipulation in natural conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dapeng Zhao
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cyto-Genetical and Molecular Regulation, College of Life Sciences, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, China
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Department of Psychology, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA 30030, USA
- Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA
| | - Baoguo Li
- College of Life Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an, China
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Meguerditchian A, Donnot J, Molesti S, Francioly R, Vauclair J. Sex difference in squirrel monkeys’ handedness for unimanual and bimanual coordinated tasks. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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Laurence A, Wallez C, Blois-Heulin C. Task complexity, posture, age, sex: Which is the main factor influencing manual laterality in captiveCercocebus torquatus torquatus? Laterality 2011; 16:586-606. [DOI: 10.1080/1357650x.2010.501338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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22
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Goal directed behavior in the sensorimotor and language hierarchies. Behav Brain Sci 2011. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00071430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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24
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Gestures, persons and communication: Sociocognitive factors in the development and evolution of linguistic abilities. Behav Brain Sci 2011. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x0007134x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
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Anatomy of hierarchical information processing. Behav Brain Sci 2011. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00071284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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33
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If you've got it, why not flaunt it? Monkeys with Broca's area but no syntactical structure to their vocal utterances. Behav Brain Sci 2011. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00071363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
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Language, tools and brain: The ontogeny and phylogeny of hierarchically organized sequential behavior. Behav Brain Sci 2011. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00071235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 542] [Impact Index Per Article: 41.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
AbstractDuring the first two years of human life a common neural substrate (roughly Broca's area) underlies the hierarchical organization of elements in the development of speech as well as the capacity to combine objects manually, including tool use. Subsequent cortical differentiation, beginning at age two, creates distinct, relatively modularized capacities for linguistic grammar and more complex combination of objects. An evolutionary homologue of the neural substrate for language production and manual action is hypothesized to have provided a foundation for the evolution of language before the divergence of the hominids and the great apes. Support comes from the discovery of a Broca's area homologue and related neural circuits in contemporary primates. In addition, chimpanzees have an identical constraint on hierarchical complexity in both tool use and symbol combination. Their performance matches that of the two-year-old child who has not yet developed the neural circuits for complex grammar and complex manual combination of objects.
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Meguerditchian A, Calcutt SE, Lonsdorf EV, Ross SR, Hopkins WD. Brief communication: Captive gorillas are right-handed for bimanual feeding. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2010; 141:638-45. [PMID: 20033918 PMCID: PMC2909605 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Predominance of right-handedness has historically been considered as a hallmark of human evolution. Whether nonhuman primates exhibit population-level manual bias remains a controversial topic. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that bimanual coordinated activities may be a key-behavior in our ancestors for the emergence and evolution of human population-level right-handedness. To this end, we collected data on hand preferences in 35 captive gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) during simple unimanual reaching and for bimanual coordinated feeding. Unimanual reaching consisted of grasping food on the ground, while bimanual feeding consisted of using one hand for holding a food and processing the food item by the opposite hand. No population-level manual bias was found for unimanual actions but, in contrast, gorillas exhibited a significant population-level right-handedness for the bimanual actions. Moreover, the degree of right-handedness for bimanual feeding exceeds any other known reports of hand use in primates, suggesting that lateralization for bimanual feeding is robust in captive gorillas. The collective evidence is discussed in the context of potential continuity of handedness between human and nonhuman primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrien Meguerditchian
- Department of Psychology, Research Center in Psychology of Cognition, Language and Emotion, Aix-Marseille University, 13621 Aix-en-Provence, France
- Division of Psychobiology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
| | - Sarah E. Calcutt
- The Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA
| | - Elizabeth V. Lonsdorf
- The Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA
| | - Stephen R. Ross
- The Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, 60614, USA
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Division of Psychobiology, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA
- Department of Psychology, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia 30030, USA
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Handedness in captive gorillas (Gorilla gorilla). Primates 2010; 51:251-61. [DOI: 10.1007/s10329-010-0191-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2008] [Accepted: 02/09/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Zhao D, Gao X, Li B. Hand preference for spontaneously unimanual and bimanual coordinated tasks in wild Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys: Implication for hemispheric specialization. Behav Brain Res 2010; 208:85-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2009.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2009] [Revised: 11/03/2009] [Accepted: 11/06/2009] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Giving the primates a hand: Is the applause really justified? Behav Brain Sci 2010. [DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x00054327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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