Werner Reichardt Centrum für Integrative Neurowissenschaften (CIN)

Neurobiology of Social Communication

Understanding the Neurobiology of Vocal Communication

Our research aims to understand the neurobiology underlying vocal communication. We tackle four main challenges within this field: (1) The neural basis for cognitive call production as a putative phylogenetic precursor for speech control in humans, (2) the role of cortical and sub-cortical mechanisms underlying audio-vocal integration processes, which are involved in audio-vocal communication, (3) intrinsic properties of the vocal pattern generating network in the brainstem and (4) the influence of social interaction on early vocal development. We use a combination of behavioral, psychophysical, neuroethological and neurophysiological methodologies to tackle our question.

Selected Publications

Find our full list of publications here

  • Gultekin YB, Hildebrand DGC, Hammerschmidt K, Hage SR (2021) High plasticity in marmoset monkey vocal development from infancy to adulthood. Science Advances 7, eabf2938 
  • Risueno-Segovia C, Hage SR (2020) Theta synchronization of phonatory and articulatory systems in marmoset monkey vocal production. Current Biology 30, 4276–4283.
  • Pomberger T*, Risueno-Segovia C*, Gultekin YB*, Dohmen D*, Hage SR (2019) Cognitive control of complex motor behavior in marmoset monkeys. Nature Communications 10, 3796 (*authors contribute equally)
  • Pomberger T*, Risueno-Segovia C*, Löschner J, Hage SR (2018) Precise motor control enables rapid flexibility in vocal behavior of marmoset monkeys. Current Biology 28, 788-794 (*authors contribute equally) 
  • Hage SR, Nieder A (2013) Single neurons in monkey prefrontal cortex encode volitional initiation of vocalizations. Nature Communications 4, 2409