Description du projet
De nouvelles connaissances sur le système de perception de la voix des mammifères
Les vocalisations des mammifères contiennent des indications importantes sur leurs états intérieurs et leurs identités. De récentes données suggèrent que certains mécanismes et spécialisations de l’audition humaine, pertinents pour la perception de la voix et du langage, sont associés à des changements soudains survenus dans les capacités humaines par rapport à d’autres primates. La question consiste à savoir si les spécialisations cérébrales pour la perception de la voix et du langage reflètent des prédispositions propres à l’humain ou si elles sont la conséquence d’adaptations évolutives rapides. Le projet VOIMA, financé par l’UE, combinera éthologie et imagerie cérébrale pour comparer le traitement de la voix et du langage chez les humains, les chiens et les porcs. Le projet entend fournir de nouvelles connaissances sur la manière dont le langage a façonné la perception humaine de la voix.
Objectif
Vocalizations of any mammal carry prominent cues about the inner states and identity of the vocalizer. Voice is also a prevalent channel for humans’ recently emerged communication system, speech. Recent evidence suggests that certain human auditory brain specializations and mechanisms, relevant for voice and speech perception, reflect abrupt shifts in human capacities compared to other primates. Do these brain specializations for voice and speech perception reflect human-specific predispositions and are thus human-unique, or are they the consequence of rapid evolutionary adaptations or developmental accommodations of the ancient voice perception system to recent demands imposed by the presence of speech? I hypothesize that in general voice perception mechanisms are conserved across mammals, and provide a neuronal niche in which specializations for human voice and speech perception may arise also in non-humans. The case of companion animals provides an unparalleled model system to study the possible evolutionary and experiential effects of the presence of speech on the mammalian voice perception system. Dogs and pigs are phylogenetically distant, highly vocal species that live, when kept as companions, with humans. VOIMA combines ethology and brain imaging (EEG/fMRI/HD-DOT) to compare voice and speech processing in humans, dogs and pigs: WP1 seeks evidence for selective processing of conspecific voices, human voice, and speech. WP2 explores the mechanisms and specific sensitivities for inner state coding, voice identity recognition and vocalizer normalization, from con- and heterospecific voice. WP3 tests how sensitivities to human voice and speech emerge across dog breed types, in neonate dogs, pigs, wolves and wild boars, and in input-manipulated developing dogs. Revealing how adaptation to the human social niche shapes domestic mammals' voice perception, this project will provide new insights on how speech shaped human voice perception.
Champ scientifique
- agricultural sciencesanimal and dairy sciencedomestic animals
- humanitieslanguages and literaturelinguisticsphonetics
- engineering and technologymedical engineeringdiagnostic imagingmagnetic resonance imaging
- natural sciencesbiological scienceszoologymammalogy
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiological behavioural sciencesethology
Programme(s)
Thème(s)
Régime de financement
ERC-STG - Starting GrantInstitution d’accueil
1053 Budapest
Hongrie