Vocalic Shifts in Attic-Ionic Greek

In this work, a number of vocalic changes in the Attic-Ionic Greek dialect group are examined from chronological and theoretical perspectives. These include a vocalic chain shift among the (originally) back vowels that occurred in both Attic and Ionic, quantitative metathesis, the second compensatory lengthening, and the Attic Rückverwandlung (reversion). After discussing the orthographic evidence from inscriptions found throughout the Attic-Ionic dialectal area and taking into consideration both synchronic and diachronic phonological theory, I advocate for a particular relative chronology of these changes. Finally, the significance of these changes for a theory of vocalic chain shifting is presented. This involves a consideration of the status of /u/-fronting and of push chains in historical phonology in general

Can a bird brain do phonology?

A number of recent studies have revealed correspondences between song- and language-related neural structures, pathways, and gene expression in humans and songbirds. Analyses of vocal learning, song structure, and the distribution of song elements have similarly revealed a remarkable number of shared characteristics with human speech. This article reviews recent developments in the understanding of these issues with reference to the phonological phenomena observed in human language. This investigation suggests that birds possess a host of abilities necessary for human phonological computation, as evidenced by behavioral, neuroanatomical, and molecular genetic studies. Vocal-learning birds therefore present an excellent model for studying some areas of human phonology, though differences in the primitives of song and language as well as the absence of a human-like morphosyntax make human phonology differ from birdsong phonology in crucial ways

Self-domestication in Homo sapiens: Insights from comparative genomics

This study identifies and analyzes statistically significant overlaps between selective sweep screens in anatomically modern humans and several domesticated species. The results obtained suggest that (paleo-)genomic data can be exploited to complement the fossil record and support the idea of self-domestication in Homo sapiens, a process that likely intensified as our species populated its niche. Our analysis lends support to attempts to capture the ªdomestication syndromeº in terms of alterations to certain signaling pathways and cell lineages, such as the neural crest

Salient craniofacial differences between AMH and Neanderthals (top) and between dogs and wolves (bottom).

<p>Salient craniofacial differences between AMH and Neanderthals (top) and between dogs and wolves (bottom).</p

Examples of synteny analysis for 3 genes showing signatures of positive selection in AMH and domesticated species.

<p>Genes of interest (<i>DCC, GRIK3</i> and <i>BRAF</i>) and their 3 flanking protein-coding genes are shown in AMH, cattle, horse, dog and cat, illustrating their conserved syntenies. For other genes, see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185306#pone.0185306.s007" target="_blank">S6 Table</a>.</p

Graphical representations of overlapping genes showing signatures of positive selection in AMH and domesticated species.

<p>(a) Hypergeometric distributions for each group (individual domesticated species and the domesticate pool) with the probability of the intersection size found with AMH (<i>v</i>). cat: <i>v</i> = 15, <i>p</i> = 0.1454; dog: <i>v</i> = 15, <i>p</i> = 0.0293; cattle: <i>v</i> = 9, <i>p</i> = 0.0028; horse: <i>v</i> = 7, <i>p</i> = 0.122; dom: <i>v</i> = 41, <i>p</i> = 0.0034 (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185306#pone.0185306.s005" target="_blank">S4 Table</a> for details). (b) Venn diagram with the number of genes with signatures of positive selection overlapping between AMH and domesticated species. The number in each (sub)set is the number of genes showing signatures of positive selection shared by AMH and the respective species (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185306#pone.0185306.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a> and <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185306#pone.0185306.s003" target="_blank">S2 Table</a> for details). (c) Graph displaying the overlapping genes showing evidence of positive selection in AMH and one or more domesticated species (<i>n</i> = 41), and genes with evidence of positive selection in two or more domesticates (but not AMH) (<i>n</i> = 9) (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185306#pone.0185306.s002" target="_blank">S1</a>–<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185306#pone.0185306.s004" target="_blank">S3</a> Tables for details).</p

List of 41 overlapping genes with evidence of positive selection in AMH and domesticated species (for more details, see S2 Table).

<p>List of 41 overlapping genes with evidence of positive selection in AMH and domesticated species (for more details, see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185306#pone.0185306.s003" target="_blank">S2 Table</a>).</p