The Neural Foundations of Gestural Communication in Captive Chimpanzees

doi:10.1017/9781009445696.021

17 - The Neural Foundations of Gestural Communication in Captive Chimpanzees

from Part Two - Evolutionary Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 June 2026

Edited by

Kim A. Bard and

Mark A. Krause: Affiliation:
Southern Oregon University
Kim A. Bard: Affiliation:
University of Michigan, Dearborn
David A. Leavens: Affiliation:
University of Sussex

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Summary

In humans, clinical and experimental research has demonstrated that language is lateralized to the left hemisphere. The evolutionary precursors and factors that selected for language lateralization have been the topic of considerable scientific debate. The chapter summarizes evidence that the emergence of left hemisphere dominance for language may lie in in the use of gestural communication by chimpanzees and other great apes. One section focuses on behavioral studies that have examined lateralization in the production and use of manual and oro-facial gestures. A second section focuses on the neuroanatomical substrates for language evident in the chimpanzee brain and their association with lateralization for different, multimodal communicative behaviors. The chapter summarize the collective findings by discussing some limitations in their interpretation and by suggesting direction for future research.

Keywords

gesture pointing lateralization neural correlates Broca’s area cingulate cortex

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Type: Chapter
Information: Pointing
Culture, Development, and Evolution
, pp. 319 - 342
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009445696.021 [Opens in a new window]
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2026

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