Acquired mirroring and intentional communication in primates
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Klaus Zuberbühler
Abstract
Arbib offers a coherent proposal of how the brain has evolved to become language-capable. Integral to the argument are mirror neurons, cells discovered in macaque brains with interesting firing patterns, and studies on gestural communication of great apes. Here, I first discuss some complexities of the recent mirror neuron literature, which suggest that ‘mirroring’ may be an ontogenetically acquired, not an evolved, feature of neurons. Second, it is now clear that chimpanzee vocal behaviour is strongly mediated by social variables, and that individuals can use vocalisations to persuade and inform others, facts that have implications for gestural theories of language evolution. I conclude with discussing research most needed for making progress in understanding how human language has evolved.
©[2013] by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Introduction
- Précis of How the brain got language: The Mirror System Hypothesis
- Acquired mirroring and intentional communication in primates
- The extended features of mirror neurons and the voluntary control of vocalization in the pathway to language
- A research program in neuroimaging for an evolutionary theory of syntax
- How did vocal behavior “take over” the gestural communication system?
- The tip of the language iceberg
- Vive la différence: Sign language and spoken language in language evolution
- The neurobiology of sign language and the mirror system hypothesis
- Action and language grounding in the sensorimotor cortex
- What happens to the motor theory of perception when the motor system is damaged?
- Where does language come from? Some reflections on the role of deictic gesture and demonstratives in the evolution of language
- Archeology and the language-ready brain
- Niche construction, too, unifies praxis and symbolization
- Complex imitation and the language-ready brain
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Introduction
- Précis of How the brain got language: The Mirror System Hypothesis
- Acquired mirroring and intentional communication in primates
- The extended features of mirror neurons and the voluntary control of vocalization in the pathway to language
- A research program in neuroimaging for an evolutionary theory of syntax
- How did vocal behavior “take over” the gestural communication system?
- The tip of the language iceberg
- Vive la différence: Sign language and spoken language in language evolution
- The neurobiology of sign language and the mirror system hypothesis
- Action and language grounding in the sensorimotor cortex
- What happens to the motor theory of perception when the motor system is damaged?
- Where does language come from? Some reflections on the role of deictic gesture and demonstratives in the evolution of language
- Archeology and the language-ready brain
- Niche construction, too, unifies praxis and symbolization
- Complex imitation and the language-ready brain
