The exaptation of manual dexterity for articulate speech: an electromyogram investigation

Electromyogram recordings revealed a concurrent contraction of the orbicularis oris, the primary articulator for bilabial stops, when participants executed a precision grip contracting the abductor pollicis brevis, a point motor act contracting the extensor indicis proprius or a curl motor act contr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental brain research 2008-04, Vol.186 (4), p.603-609
Main Authors: Higginbotham, David R., Isaak, Matthew I., Domingue, James N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Analysis of Variance
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Communication
Electromyography - methods
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gestures
Hand Strength - physiology
Humans
Hypotheses
Male
Middle Aged
Monkeys & apes
Motor ability
Motor control and motor pathways. Reflexes. Control centers of vegetative functions. Vestibular system and equilibration
Mouth
Muscle Contraction - physiology
Muscle, Skeletal - innervation
Muscle, Skeletal - physiology
Neurology
Neurons
Neurosciences
Peripheral nervous system. Autonomic nervous system. Neuromuscular transmission. Ganglionic transmission. Electric organ
Primates
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Research Article
Speech
Speech - physiology
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:Electromyogram recordings revealed a concurrent contraction of the orbicularis oris, the primary articulator for bilabial stops, when participants executed a precision grip contracting the abductor pollicis brevis, a point motor act contracting the extensor indicis proprius or a curl motor act contracting the flexor sublimis digitorum (FDS). In contrast, the concurrent contraction of several facial muscles not directly involved in labial articulation was not observed during these acts. The results converge both with observations of sympathetic hand and mouth activity among nonhuman primates and prelinguistic human infants and with demonstrations of the influence of grasping on labial articulation in adult humans (e.g., Gentilucci et al., J Neurophysiol 86, 1685–1699, 2001). The findings are also consistent with theories suggesting the transition from gestural to verbal, articulate communication systems may be subserved by the properties of the human equivalent of monkey F5 mirror and canonical neurons located in Broca’s area.
ISSN:0014-4819
1432-1106
DOI:10.1007/s00221-007-1265-9