Friederici, Angela D.

Petrides, Michael

Scharff, Constance

Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience

PubMed

Scharff, C.

Friederici, A.

Petrides, M.

MPG.PuRe

Neurobiology of human language and its evolution: primate and non-primate perspectives

Constance Scharff

Angela D. Friederici

Michael Petrides

Crossref

Institutional Repository of the Freie Universität Berlin

EDITORIALpublished: 28 January 2013doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2013.00001Neurobiology of human language and its evolution:primate and non-primate perspectivesConstance Scharff1, Angela D. Friederici 2* and Michael Petrides31 Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany2 Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany3 Neurological Institute and Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada*Correspondence: angelafr@cbs.mpg.deEdited by:Ralph L. Holloway, Columbia University, USAReviewed by:Ralph L. Holloway, Columbia University, USAThe evolution of human language has been discussed for cen-turies from different perspectives. Linguistic theory has proposedgrammar as a core part of human language that has to be con-sidered in this context. Recent advances in neurosciences haveallowed us to take a new neurobiological look on the similar-ities and dissimilarities of cognitive capacities and their neuralbasis across both closely and distantly related species. A cou-ple of decades ago, the comparisons were mainly drawn betweenhuman and non-human primates, investigating the cytoarchitec-ture of particular brain areas and their structural connectivity.Moreover, comparative studies were conducted with respect totheir ability to process grammars of different complexity. So farthe available data suggest that non-human primates are able tolearn simple probabilistic grammars, but not hierarchically struc-tured complex grammars. The human brain, which easily learnsboth grammars, differs from the non-human brain (among oth-ers) in how two language-relevant brain regions (Broca’s area inthe inferior frontal cortex and the superior temporal cortex) areconnected structurally by fiber tracts which run dorsally and ven-trally in the primate brain. Whether the more dominant dorsalpathway in humans compared to non-human primates is causallyrelated to this behavioral difference is an issue of current debate.Ontogenetic findings suggest at least a correlation between thematuration of the dorsal pathway and the behavior to process syn-tactically complex structures, although the ultimate causal proveis still not available. Thus, the neural basis of complex grammarprocessing in humans remains to be defined.More recently it has been reported that songbirds are alsoable to distinguish between sound sequences reflecting com-plex grammar. Interestingly, songbirds learn to sing by imitatingadult song in a process not unlike language development in chil-dren. Moreover, the neural circuits supporting this behavior insongbirds bear anatomical and functional similarities to those inhumans. In adult humans the fiber tract connecting the auditorycortex and motor cortex dorsally is known to be involved in therepetition of spoken language. This pathway is present already atbirth and is taken to play a major role during language acqui-sition. In songbirds, detailed information exist concerning theinteraction of auditory, motor, and cortical-basal ganglia pro-cessing during song learning, and present a rich substrate forcomparative studies.The scope of the Research Topic was to bring together con-tributions of researchers from different fields, who investigategrammar processing in humans, non-human primates, and song-birds with the aim to find answers to the question of whatconstitutes the neurobiological basis of language and languagelearning.A number of contributions discuss the ventral and dorsal path-ways in human and non-human primates considering their func-tional roles in speech and language. Some of these take an evolu-tionary perspective comparing non-human and human primates(Rauschecker, 2012; Rilling et al., 2012), whereas other takes anontogenetic perspective (Friederici, 2012). The functional roles ofthe ventral and dorsal pathways in language and other modalitiesin particular action including articulatory and hand gestures arediscussed in further articles (Fitch, 2011; Aboitiz, 2012; Rijntjeset al., 2012). Two articles consider the language system at theinterface of two other human specific abilities, namely numberprocessing (Heim et al., 2012) and reading (Lachmann et al.,2012). A couple of contributions take the evolutionary perspec-tive even further by including song birds into their comparativeapproach (Berwick et al., 2012; Kiggins et al., 2012; Petkov andJarvis, 2012).The selection of the articles provides a picture of the cur-rent views on the evolutionary and neurobiological basis of thelanguage and language learning.REFERENCESAboitiz, F. (2012). Gestures, vocaliza-tions, and memory in language ori-gins. Front. Evol. Neurosci. 4:2. doi:10.3389/fnevo.2012.00002Berwick, R. C., Beckers, G. J. L.,Okanoya, K., and Bolhuis, J.J. (2012). A bird’s eye viewof human language evolution.Front. Evol. Neurosci. 4:5. doi:10.3389/fnevo.2012.00005Fitch, W. T. (2011). The evolutionof syntax: an exaptationist per-spective. Front. Evol. Neurosci.3:9. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2011.00009Friederici, A. D. (2012). Languagedevelopment and the ontogenyof the dorsal pathway. Front.Evol. Neurosci. 4:3. doi:10.3389/fnevo.2012.00003Heim, S., Amunts, K., Drai, D.,Eickhoff, S. B., Hautvast, S.,and Grodzinsky, Y. (2012). Thelanguage–number interface inthe brain: a complex parametricstudy of quantifiers and quantities.Front. Evol. Neurosci. 4:4. doi:10.3389/fnevo.2012.00004Kiggins, J. T., Comins, J. A., andGentner, T. Q. (2012). Targets fora comparative neurobiology of lan-guage. Front. Evol. Neurosci. 4:6. doi:10.3389/fnevo.2012.00006Lachmann, T., Khera, G., Srinivasan,N., and van Leeuwen, C. (2012).Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience www.frontiersin.org January 2013 | Volume 5 | Article 1 | 1EVOLUTIONARY NEUROSCIENCEScharff et al. Neurobiology and evolution of languageLearning to read aligns visualanalytical skills with grapheme-phoneme mapping: evidence fromilliterates. Front. Evol. Neurosci.4:8. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2012.00008Petkov, C. I., and Jarvis, E. D. (2012).Birds, primates, and spokenlanguage origins: behavioral phe-notypes and neurobiologicalsubstrates. Front. Evol. Neurosci.4:12. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2012.00012Rauschecker, J. P. (2012). Ventraland dorsal streams in theevolution of speech and lan-guage. Front. Evol. Neurosci.4:7. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2012.00007Rijntjes, M., Weiller, C., Bormann,T., and Musso, M. (2012). Thedual loop model: its relationto language and other modal-ities. Front. Evol. Neurosci.4:9. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2012.00009Rilling, J. K., Glasser, M. F., Jbabdi,S., Andersson, J., and Preuss, T.M. (2012). Continuity, divergence,and the evolution of brain languagepathways. Front. Evol. Neurosci.3:11. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2011.00011Received: 16 October 2012; accepted:09 January 2013; published online: 28January 2013.Citation: Scharff C, Friederici AD andPetrides M (2013) Neurobiology ofhuman language and its evolution:primate and non-primate perspectives.Front. Evol. Neurosci. 5:1. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2013.00001Copyright © 2013 Scharff, Friedericiand Petrides. This is an open-accessarticle distributed under the terms of theCreative Commons Attribution License,which permits use, distribution andreproduction in other forums, providedthe original authors and source arecredited and subject to any copyrightnotices concerning any third-partygraphics etc.Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience www.frontiersin.org January 2013 | Volume 5 | Article 1 | 2

Neurobiology of human language and its evolution: primate and non-primate
perspectives

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EDITORIAL
published: 28 January 2013
doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2013.00001
Neurobiology of human language and its evolution:
primate and non-primate perspectives
Constance Scharff1, Angela D. Friederici 2* and Michael Petrides3
1 Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
2 Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
3 Neurological Institute and Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
*Correspondence: angelafr@cbs.mpg.de
Edited by:
Ralph L. Holloway, Columbia University, USA
Reviewed by:
Ralph L. Holloway, Columbia University, USA
The evolution of human language has been discussed for cen-
turies from different perspectives. Linguistic theory has proposed
grammar as a core part of human language that has to be con-
sidered in this context. Recent advances in neurosciences have
allowed us to take a new neurobiological look on the similar-
ities and dissimilarities of cognitive capacities and their neural
basis across both closely and distantly related species. A cou-
ple of decades ago, the comparisons were mainly drawn between
human and non-human primates, investigating the cytoarchitec-
ture of particular brain areas and their structural connectivity.
Moreover, comparative studies were conducted with respect to
their ability to process grammars of different complexity. So far
the available data suggest that non-human primates are able to
learn simple probabilistic grammars, but not hierarchically struc-
tured complex grammars. The human brain, which easily learns
both grammars, differs from the non-human brain (among oth-
ers) in how two language-relevant brain regions (Broca’s area in
the inferior frontal cortex and the superior temporal cortex) are
connected structurally by fiber tracts which run dorsally and ven-
trally in the primate brain. Whether the more dominant dorsal
pathway in humans compared to non-human primates is causally
related to this behavioral difference is an issue of current debate.
Ontogenetic findings suggest at least a correlation between the
maturation of the dorsal pathway and the behavior to process syn-
tactically complex structures, although the ultimate causal prove
is still not available. Thus, the neural basis of complex grammar
processing in humans remains to be defined.
More recently it has been reported that songbirds are also
able to distinguish between sound sequences reflecting com-
plex grammar. Interestingly, songbirds learn to sing by imitating
adult song in a process not unlike language development in chil-
dren. Moreover, the neural circuits supporting this behavior in
songbirds bear anatomical and functional similarities to those in
humans. In adult humans the fiber tract connecting the auditory
cortex and motor cortex dorsally is known to be involved in the
repetition of spoken language. This pathway is present already at
birth and is taken to play a major role during language acqui-
sition. In songbirds, detailed information exist concerning the
interaction of auditory, motor, and cortical-basal ganglia pro-
cessing during song learning, and present a rich substrate for
comparative studies.
The scope of the Research Topic was to bring together con-
tributions of researchers from different fields, who investigate
grammar processing in humans, non-human primates, and song-
birds with the aim to find answers to the question of what
constitutes the neurobiological basis of language and language
learning.
A number of contributions discuss the ventral and dorsal path-
ways in human and non-human primates considering their func-
tional roles in speech and language. Some of these take an evolu-
tionary perspective comparing non-human and human primates
(Rauschecker, 2012; Rilling et al., 2012), whereas other takes an
ontogenetic perspective (Friederici, 2012). The functional roles of
the ventral and dorsal pathways in language and other modalities
in particular action including articulatory and hand gestures are
discussed in further articles (Fitch, 2011; Aboitiz, 2012; Rijntjes
et al., 2012). Two articles consider the language system at the
interface of two other human specific abilities, namely number
processing (Heim et al., 2012) and reading (Lachmann et al.,
2012). A couple of contributions take the evolutionary perspec-
tive even further by including song birds into their comparative
approach (Berwick et al., 2012; Kiggins et al., 2012; Petkov and
Jarvis, 2012).
The selection of the articles provides a picture of the cur-
rent views on the evolutionary and neurobiological basis of the
language and language learning.
REFERENCES
Aboitiz, F. (2012). Gestures, vocaliza-
tions, and memory in language ori-
gins. Front. Evol. Neurosci. 4:2. doi:
10.3389/fnevo.2012.00002
Berwick, R. C., Beckers, G. J. L.,
Okanoya, K., and Bolhuis, J.
J. (2012). A bird’s eye view
of human language evolution.
Front. Evol. Neurosci. 4:5. doi:
10.3389/fnevo.2012.00005
Fitch, W. T. (2011). The evolution
of syntax: an exaptationist per-
spective. Front. Evol. Neurosci.
3:9. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2011.
00009
Friederici, A. D. (2012). Language
development and the ontogeny
of the dorsal pathway. Front.
Evol. Neurosci. 4:3. doi:
10.3389/fnevo.2012.00003
Heim, S., Amunts, K., Drai, D.,
Eickhoff, S. B., Hautvast, S.,
and Grodzinsky, Y. (2012). The
language–number interface in
the brain: a complex parametric
study of quantifiers and quantities.
Front. Evol. Neurosci. 4:4. doi:
10.3389/fnevo.2012.00004
Kiggins, J. T., Comins, J. A., and
Gentner, T. Q. (2012). Targets for
a comparative neurobiology of lan-
guage. Front. Evol. Neurosci. 4:6. doi:
10.3389/fnevo.2012.00006
Lachmann, T., Khera, G., Srinivasan,
N., and van Leeuwen, C. (2012).
Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience www.frontiersin.org January 2013 | Volume 5 | Article 1 | 1
EVOLUTIONARY NEUROSCIENCE
Scharff et al. Neurobiology and evolution of language
Learning to read aligns visual
analytical skills with grapheme-
phoneme mapping: evidence from
illiterates. Front. Evol. Neurosci.
4:8. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2012.
00008
Petkov, C. I., and Jarvis, E. D. (2012).
Birds, primates, and spoken
language origins: behavioral phe-
notypes and neurobiological
substrates. Front. Evol. Neurosci.
4:12. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2012.
00012
Rauschecker, J. P. (2012). Ventral
and dorsal streams in the
evolution of speech and lan-
guage. Front. Evol. Neurosci.
4:7. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2012.
00007
Rijntjes, M., Weiller, C., Bormann,
T., and Musso, M. (2012). The
dual loop model: its relation
to language and other modal-
ities. Front. Evol. Neurosci.
4:9. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2012.
00009
Rilling, J. K., Glasser, M. F., Jbabdi,
S., Andersson, J., and Preuss, T.
M. (2012). Continuity, divergence,
and the evolution of brain language
pathways. Front. Evol. Neurosci.
3:11. doi: 10.3389/fnevo.2011.00011
Received: 16 October 2012; accepted:
09 January 2013; published online: 28
January 2013.
Citation: Scharff C, Friederici AD and
Petrides M (2013) Neurobiology of
human language and its evolution:
primate and non-primate perspectives.
Front. Evol. Neurosci. 5:1. doi: 10.3389/
fnevo.2013.00001
Copyright © 2013 Scharff, Friederici
and Petrides. This is an open-access
article distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits use, distribution and
reproduction in other forums, provided
the original authors and source are
credited and subject to any copyright
notices concerning any third-party
graphics etc.
Frontiers in Evolutionary Neuroscience www.frontiersin.org January 2013 | Volume 5 | Article 1 | 2


A bird’s eye view of human language evolution.

Birds, primates, and spoken language origins: behavioral phenotypes and neurobiological substrates.

Continuity, divergence, and the evolution of brain language pathways.

doi: 10.3389/ fnevo.2013.00001 Copyright ©

Gestures, vocalizations, and memory in language origins.

Language development and the ontogeny of the dorsal pathway.

Neurobiology and evolution of language Learning to read aligns visual analytical skills with graphemephoneme mapping: evidence from illiterates.

Neurobiology of human language and its evolution: primate and non-primate perspectives.

Targets for a comparative neurobiology of language.

The dual loop model: its relation to language and other modalities.

The evolution of syntax: an exaptationist perspective.

The language–number interface in the brain: a complex parametric study of quantiﬁers and quantities.

Ventral and dorsal streams in the evolution of speech and language.

https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/bitstream/fub188/21219/1/fnevo-05-00001.pdf

Neurobiology of human language and its evolution: primate and non-primate perspectives

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