Understanding language evolution : beyond Pan-centrism

Language does not fossilize but this does not mean that the language's evolutionary timeline is lost forever. Great apes provide a window back in time on our last prelinguistic ancestor's communication and cognition. Phylogeny and cladistics implicitly conjure Pan (chimpanzees, bonobos) as a superior (often the only) model for language evolution compared with earlier diverging lineages, Gorilla and Pongo (orangutans). Here, in reviewing the literature, it is shown that Pan do not surpass other great apes along genetic, cognitive, ecologic, or vocal traits that are putatively paramount for language onset and evolution. Instead, revived herein is the idea that only by abandoning single-species models and learning about the variation among great apes, there might be a chance to retrieve lost fragments of the evolutionary timeline of language.PostprintPeer reviewe

Synthesis of two novel oxocyclam-binding technetium complexes containing an analogue of cocaine

International audienceIn order to visualize and quantify dopamine transporters, the synthesis of two novel ligands labelled with technetium-99 m (99mTc) has been investigated. A multi-step synthesis afforded two target ligands with a tropane skeleton and a macrocyclic complexing moiety. The choice and the position of substituents are in adequation with dopamine transporter structure. The radiolabelling of these ligands with 99mTc has been studied and the results make them good candidates for SPECT imaging

Audio-visual speech scene analysis: Characterization of the dynamics of unbinding and rebinding the McGurk effect

International audienceWhile audiovisual interactions in speech perception have long been considered as automatic, recentdata suggest that this is not the case. In a previous study, Nahorna et al. [(2012). J. Acoust. Soc.Am. 132, 1061–1077] showed that the McGurk effect is reduced by a previous incoherentaudiovisual context. This was interpreted as showing the existence of an audiovisual binding stagecontrolling the fusion process. Incoherence would produce unbinding and decrease the weight ofthe visual input in fusion. The present paper explores the audiovisual binding system to characterizeits dynamics. A first experiment assesses the dynamics of unbinding, and shows that it is rapid: Anincoherent context less than 0.5 s long (typically one syllable) suffices to produce a maximalreduction in the McGurk effect. A second experiment tests the rebinding process, by presenting ashort period of either coherent material or silence after the incoherent unbinding context.Coherence provides rebinding, with a recovery of the McGurk effect, while silence providesno rebinding and hence freezes the unbinding process. These experiments are interpreted in theframework of an audiovisual speech scene analysis process assessing the perceptual organization ofan audiovisual speech input before decision takes place at a higher processing stage