The Origins of Music: Preface - Preface

6.7) from three adult males and two adult females (five to nine call exem-

plars per individual) indicate that for both screams and grunts,there was

bias for the significant right side of the face (p <.05–.01).In contrast,for

coos,the articulation appeared highly symmetrical,with only a small pro-

portion of exemplars showing bias for left or right side.Although the

samples were small,these results are promising,especially when con-

trasted with the kinematics of facial expressions (Hauser 1993a).Specif-

ically,fear grimaces and screams are both produced by retracting the lips.

When they are produced,bias is for the left side of the face,whereas it

is for the right side for screams.If screams were merely expressions of

affective state (fear),we would expect bias for the left side of the face

(right hemisphere),as shown for fear grimaces.Given that screams show

right side bias,we suggest that the dominant message is semantic.If

correct,this would provide neurobiological support for the behavioral

observations of Gouzoules and colleagues (1984) indicating that the

rhesus monkey’s scream system consists of functionally referential

signals that map onto variation in the details of the social interaction

(e.g.,aggressive interactions with kin or nonkin).

Conclusion

Production and perception of human music depend on particular

neurocognitive mechanisms.Some of these mechanisms are innately

97 Primate Vocalizations in Emotion and Thought

Figure 6.7

Asymmetries in timing of articulation for rhesus monkey grunts,screams,and coos.The

photograph is of an individual producing a scream vocalization,with production bias on

the right side of the face.

Fig.6.7