Monkey X-ray (IMAGE)
Caption
Researchers have found that monkeys known as macaques possess the vocal anatomy but not the brain circuitry to produce human speech. The findings suggest that human speech stems mainly from the unique evolution and construction of our brains, and is not linked to vocalization-related anatomical differences between humans and primates. The researchers used X-ray videos (above) to capture and trace the movements of the different parts of a macaque's vocal anatomy -- such as the tongue, lips and larynx -- during a number of orofacial behaviors.
Credit
Image courtesy of Asif Ghazanfar, Princeton Neuroscience Institute
Usage Restrictions
None
License
Licensed content