Can we decode the language of our primate cousins?

The University of Geneva team wanted to find out whether the frontal and orbitofrontal regions of our brain activate in the same way when faced with human and simian vocalisations. Leonardo Ceravolo - A team from the University of Geneva shows that the human brain is capable of identifying the vocalisations of certain primate species, if they are close to us and if the frequencies used are also close to our own. Are we able to differentiate between the vocal emissions of certain primates? A team from the University of Geneva asked volunteers to categorise the vocalisations of three species of great apes ( Hominidae ) and humans. During each exposure to these ''onomatopoeia'', brain activity was measured. Unlike previous studies, the scientists reveal that phylogenetic proximity - or kinship - is not the only factor influencing our ability to identify these sounds. Acoustic proximity - the type of frequencies emitted - is also a determining factor. These results show how the human brain has evolved to process the vocal emissions of some of our closest cousins more efficiently.