Speakers > Steffen Hage

Steffen Hage

U. Tübingen, Germany

Motor control mechanisms in marmoset vocal behavior

Current studies including our own have recently revealed distinct learning mechanisms during vocal development and vocal flexibility allowing monkeys to cognitively control when, where, and what to vocalize, all of which are crucial biological preadaptations in monkeys for the emergence of a language system in humans. I will give an overview on our recent studies on marmoset monkey vocal behavior. I will present data suggesting that marmoset monkey vocalizations do not consist of a discrete call pattern but are constructed from many rhythmically uttered sequential units. Furthermore, I will show that marmosets are able to control their vocal output in a goal-directed way to perform a specific task successfully and how this behavior can be used to investigate neural mechanisms underlying vocal motor control. Finally, I will provide insights into our recent studies that suggest a prolonged phase of plasticity during marmoset vocal development.