| Visuoauditory mappings between high luminance and high pitch are shared by chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and humans. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 22143791 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Humans share implicit preferences for certain cross-sensory combinations; for example, they consistently associate higher-pitched sounds with lighter colors, smaller size, and spikier shapes. In the condition of synesthesia, people may experience such cross-modal correspondences to a perceptual degree (e.g., literally seeing sounds). So far, no study has addressed the question whether nonhuman animals share cross-modal correspondences as well. To establish the evolutionary origins of cross-modal mappings, we tested whether chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) also associate higher pitch with higher luminance. Thirty-three humans and six chimpanzees were required to classify black and white squares according to their color while hearing irrelevant background sounds that were either high-pitched or low-pitched. Both species performed better when the background sound was congruent (high-pitched for white, low-pitched for black) than when it was incongruent (low-pitched for white, high-pitched for black). An inherent tendency to pair high pitch with high luminance hence evolved before the human lineage split from that of chimpanzees. Rather than being a culturally learned or a linguistic phenomenon, this mapping constitutes a basic feature of the primate sensory system. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Vera U Ludwig; Ikuma Adachi; Tetsuro Matsuzawa |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2011-12-5 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Volume: - ISSN: 1091-6490 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2011 Dec |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2011-12-6 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 7505876 Medline TA: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Country: - |
Other Details:
|
Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Affiliation:
|
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, D-10117 Berlin, Germany. |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
|
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Mouse digit tip regeneration is mediated by fate-restricted progenitor cells.
Next Document: Notch1 regulates the expression of the multidrug resistance gene ABCC1/MRP1 in cultured cancer cells...