From Action to Language: Comparative Perspectives on Primate Tool Use, Gesture and the Evolution of Human Language issue 1585

Front Cover......Page 1
Copyright......Page 2
Contents......Page 3
REFERENCES......Page 4
Historical background to the present issue......Page 5
Current research themes as illustrated by contributors to this issue......Page 6
We are grateful to the EC for financial support for the HandToMouth project (EC FP6, contract no. 29065) including its three annual scientific meetings, to Manu Davies as project administrator, and to the following who participated in one or more of those meetings as external scientific advisers: Raoul Bongers, Scott Frey, Kathleen Gibson, Joachim Hermsdörfer, Atsushi Iriki, David Ostry, Katerina Pastra and Valentine Roux. We also gratefully acknowledge the help of all the referees who commented on individual papers submitted to this Special Issue, and Joanna Bolesworth of the Royal Society for her considerable patience and support during preparation of the final publication.......Page 8
REFERENCES......Page 9
Introduction......Page 11
Parietal plasticity when incorporating tools into the body schema......Page 12
Brain expansion by tool-use training......Page 13
Redundant and polysemic systems as pre-adaptations for a novel neural niche......Page 14
Parietal ‘neural niches’ for processing spatial and non-spatial cognition......Page 15
Opercular cortex as a cradle for language by re-using spatial processing principles......Page 16
Neck reaching......Page 18
Extension of axes from concrete to virtual spaces for locomotion, tool use and language......Page 19
REFERENCES......Page 20
Introduction......Page 25
Apparatus and training procedures......Page 26
Results......Page 27
Behavioural analysis......Page 28
Results......Page 29
Apparatus......Page 30
Results......Page 31
Are generalization capacities of tool use based on a comprehension of the means-ends relationship?......Page 32
Social learning processes of tool use: from behavioural data to possible neurophysiological mechanisms......Page 33
Conclusions and evolutionary remarks......Page 34
REFERENCES......Page 35
Introduction......Page 38
Image collection and procedure......Page 40
Image segmentation and region of interest measurements......Page 41
Causality noise (six trials)......Page 42
Attentional state (eight trials)......Page 43
Cognitive correlates of throwing......Page 44
Discussion......Page 45
REFERENCES......Page 47
Response selection versus action selection......Page 49
Context sensitivity in action selection......Page 50
Apparatus......Page 51
Coding and inter-rater reliability......Page 52
Results and discussion......Page 53
Apparatus......Page 54
Coding and inter-rater reliability......Page 55
Results and discussion......Page 56
REFERENCES......Page 57
Introduction......Page 60
Nut-cracking techniques......Page 61
Stone-flaking techniques......Page 63
Material and methods......Page 64
Behavioural results I: control of kinetic energy in adaptation to task conditions......Page 65
Behavioural results II: bimanual coordination......Page 67
Brain evolution in humans and chimpanzees: issues relevant to tool use......Page 68
Conclusions......Page 71
REFERENCES......Page 72
Introduction......Page 76
Cortical networks for speech and tool use......Page 77
Inferior parietal lobe......Page 78
Posterior temporal lobe......Page 79
Lateralization of function......Page 80
Oldowan toolmaking......Page 81
Intentional communication......Page 82
Conclusion......Page 83
REFERENCES......Page 84
The speech, handedness and tool-use nexus in our closest extinct relatives: the neanderthals......Page 89
Hominin vocal tract morphology as evidence of selection for articulatory potential......Page 90
Neanderthal sample......Page 92
Acoustic modelling......Page 93
Results 2: acoustic analysis......Page 96
Discussion......Page 97
We are very grateful to Frédéric Richard and Françoise Tilotta for access to the human head-and-neck CT scans; C. Stringer, C. Soligo, L. Bondioli and NESPOS for access to Neanderthal specimen CT scans; Rob Kruszynski for support accessing the hominin collection at the NHM; E. Lewitus, I. de Groote and K. Balolia for assistance with producing STL scans; and to Pierre Badin for permission to use existing data and software resources for developing Simus_Neanderthals. We also thank the two referees who both provided very helpful comments on an earlier draft. This research was supported by the European Commission in a grant to the HANDTOMOUTH project (FP6, Contract no. 29065, NEST-2004-PATH-HUMAN).......Page 101
REFERENCES......Page 102
Introduction......Page 104
Computational grammars of action......Page 105
The Chomskyan tradition of generative grammars......Page 106
Tool complement (tc)......Page 107
Goal (g)......Page 108
Action grammar non-terminals......Page 109
Step 2:......Page 110
Step 3:......Page 111
Step 4:......Page 112
Action grammar: recursion, merge, move and the notion of tool use......Page 113
Discussion......Page 114
REFERENCES......Page 117
Defining a gesture......Page 119
Gestures of non-human primates......Page 120
Phylogenetic origins......Page 122
Ontogenetic origins......Page 123
Gestural origin of human language......Page 124
Conclusion......Page 125
REFERENCES......Page 126
Introduction......Page 130
How does action experience affect action representation?......Page 131
What do human gestures look like?......Page 132
Gesture can represent action......Page 133
Gesture can influence thought......Page 134
What do primates know about actions?......Page 135
Primate gesture......Page 136
Representation......Page 137
Gesture and mental representation in the evolution of language......Page 138
A cognitive leap?......Page 139
REFERENCES......Page 140
Introduction......Page 145
Types of aphasia......Page 147
Types of apraxia according to Liepmann......Page 148
Contemporary theories for the cerebral organization of language and praxis......Page 149
Action recognition......Page 150
Gesture imitation and speech repetition......Page 151
Pantomime and gestural communication......Page 152
Common resources for praxis and language......Page 153
Conclusion......Page 155
REFERENCES......Page 156
Back Cover......Page 163