Neural basis of multi-sensory communication in primates

Abstract

Primates present a rich range of communication strategies in different modalities that evolved as signaling, perceiving and signaling back behaviors. This diversity benefits from specialized dedicated neural pathways for signaling and for perceiving communication signals. The brain areas for perceiving and producing communicative signals can be described separately, but form integrated neural loops, which coordinate perception and action in the signaler and receiver. Moreover, the different sensory modalities are initially processed separately by the brain but eventually share neural pathways for communication: a redundancy that might ensure proper signal transfer. Only a few primate species have been studied so far, including rhesus, long-tailed macaques, squirrel monkeys, marmosets, and humans. Yet, the evidence suggests that all primates possess specialized neural pathways coordinating a diverse range of communication systems for organizing their complex kin and friendship bonds.

KEY WORDS:

• vocalization
• face
• body
• odor
• touch
• social interaction
• brain

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to thank Elisa Demuru and Cristina Giacoma for the opportunity to contribute to the special issue; Stephen V. Shepherd for initiating and working with us on two previous reviews, which set the stage for this article.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Agence Nationale de la Recherche [ANR-21-CE37-0016-02, ANR-19-CE37-0002-01, and ANR-10-IAIHU-06 to J. Sliwa]; and the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) [Return Home Fellowship to J. Sliwa].