The developmental dynamics of marmoset monkey vocal production

Abstract

Marmosets learn to talk baby-talk As human infants grow, their vocalizations change from cries, to babbles, to words. This pattern has been presumed to be absent from other primates. Indeed, the development of bird song is often regarded as a closer approximation of human language development. Takahashi et al. , however, observed that marmoset cries and calls in the first 2 months after birth mature in much the same way as they do in humans (see the Perspective by Margoliash and Tchernichovski). Calls changed as the infants' vocal structures grew and were influenced by feedback from their parents. Science , this issue p. 734 ; see also p. 688