Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - 2004 - Volume 27, Issue 04  


Short Communication

Motherese by any other name: Mother-infant communication in non-hominin mammals

John D. Newman a1
a1 Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, National Institute of Clinical Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Poolesville, MD 20837 jdnewman@helix.nih.gov http://gpp.nih.gov/researchers/viewbook/Newman_John.html

Abstract

The definition of motherese is extended to infant-directed vocalizations in non-hominin mammals. In many species, vocal interactions between mothers and their infants are common. The neural substrates mediating these interactions include the rostral limbic cortex of the frontal lobe. Spoken language may have arisen from hominin females vocalizing to their infants.