Linguistic law-like compression strategies emerge to maximize coding efficiency in marmoset vocal communication.

Human language follows statistical regularities or linguistic laws. For instance, Zipf's law of brevity states that the more frequently a word is used, the shorter it tends to be. All human languages adhere to this word structure.

High plasticity in marmoset monkey vocal development from infancy to adulthood.

The vocal behavior of human infants undergoes marked changes across their first year while becoming increasingly speech-like. Conversely, vocal development in nonhuman primates has been assumed to be largely predetermined and completed within the first postnatal months. Contradicting this assumption, we found a dichotomy between the development of call features and vocal sequences in marmoset monkeys, suggestive of a role for experience.

Role of Tactile Noise in the Control of Digit Normal Force.

Whenever we grasp and lift an object, our tactile system provides important information on the contact location and the force exerted on our skin. The human brain integrates signals from multiple sites for a coherent representation of object shape, inertia, weight, and other material properties. It is still an open question whether the control of grasp force occurs at the level of individual fingers or whether it is also influenced by the control and the signals from the other fingers of the same hand.

Author Correction: Cognitive control of complex motor behavior in marmoset monkeys.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Cognitive control of complex motor behavior in marmoset monkeys.

Marmosets have attracted significant interest in the life sciences. Similarities with human brain anatomy and physiology, such as the granular frontal cortex, as well as the development of transgenic lines and potential for transferring rodent neuroscientific techniques to small primates make them a promising neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric model system. However, whether marmosets can exhibit complex motor tasks in highly controlled experimental designs-one of the prerequisites for investigating higher-order control mechanisms underlying cognitive motor behavior-has not been demonstrated.

Limiting parental interaction during vocal development affects acoustic call structure in marmoset monkeys.

Human vocal development is dependent on learning by imitation through social feedback between infants and caregivers. Recent studies have revealed that vocal development is also influenced by parental feedback in marmoset monkeys, suggesting vocal learning mechanisms in nonhuman primates. Marmoset infants that experience more contingent vocal feedback than their littermates develop vocalizations more rapidly, and infant marmosets with limited parental interaction exhibit immature vocal behavior beyond infancy.

Limiting parental feedback disrupts vocal development in marmoset monkeys.

Vocalizations of human infants undergo dramatic changes across the first year by becoming increasingly mature and speech-like. Human vocal development is partially dependent on learning by imitation through social feedback between infants and caregivers. Recent studies revealed similar developmental processes being influenced by parental feedback in marmoset monkeys for apparently innate vocalizations.