Takashi Torigoe

Comparison of Object Manipulation Among 74 Species of Non-human Primates

Seventy-four primates species (24 genera of six families) were presented with a nylon rope and a wooden cube, and their subsequent manipulations were recorded in detail. Five hundreds and six manipulation patterns were distinguished on the basis of the actions performed, body-parts used and relations to other objects. Inter-specific comparisons revealed three groups: (1) lemurs, marmosets, spider monkeys and leaf-eaters; (2) Old World monkeys except leaf-eaters; and (3) cebus monkeys and apes. The first group had the smallest repertoire of manipulations, in which only a few types of actions and body-parts were involved. The second and third groups had more varied modes of manipulation. Actions such as Roll, Rub and Slide, and use of fingers characterized these groups. Except for the lesser ape, their manipulations were frequently related with other objects. Moreover, actions such as Drape, Drop, Strike, Swing and Throw were typical of the third group. The factors producing such inter-specific differences in manipulations and the relations to tool use are discussed.

Further report on object manipulation in non-human primates: a comparison within 13 species of the genus Macaca

Thirteen captive species of the genusMacaca were presented with certain non-edible objects and the subsequent manipulation was observed. The following results were obtained: (1) Thefascicularis group species displayed a great variety in rolling the manipulandum, which has been reported to be one of the actions characterizing cercopithecine species; (2) manipulating the object with one finger was typical of thesilenus-sylvanus andsinica groups, whereas use of the fingers moving opposably was common to all species ofMacaca; (3) secondary manipulations in relation to the wire-mesh were observed only inM. silenus, M. sinica, andM. nemestrina, whereas those in relation to water were common to allMacaca species; and (4) within-subgroup differences were great in thesilenus-sylvanus andsinica groups as compared to thefascicularis group.

Deaf Life on Isolated Japanese Islands

Thirty-eight deaf persons who had little experience of school were interviewed, as were their hearing families, relatives, and neighbors, in a field survey on some islands of Okinawa, Japan. Findings reported here cover (a) social and language environment during childhood, (b) frequency of contact with other deaf and hearing people, (c) communication methods used, and (d) their past and present social lives. Typical were the use of an indigenous gestural system shared with hearing people that enabled them to be integrated into the local hearing community, and their limited contact with the Deaf community (graduates of the deaf schools who use Japanese Sign Language). Implications of the findings are discussed as they bear on origin and development of Deaf communities and sign languages.

Object manipulation in a captive troop of Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata): A developmental analysis

A captive troop of Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) was presented with a nylon rope, a wooden cube, and an iron tube, and their subsequent manipulations were observed in detail. In total, 202 manipulation patterns were distinguished on the basis of three components: the actions performed, body-parts used, and relations to other objects. The developmental changes in these modes of manipulation were analyzed cross-sectionally, revealing four characteristics: (1) the most manipulative members of the troop were those aged 2–3 and 4–6 years old; (2) most of the manipulatory repertoire appeared by 4–6 years old; (3) actions such as Roll, Rub, and Slide and the use of bodyparts continued to increase in variety until 4–6 years old, while the variety of other actions showed plateaus after 2–3 years old or an earlier age; and (4) secondary manipulations appeared at 1 year old and continued to increase in variety even after 4–6 years old.

A Descriptive Analysis of Pointing and Oral Movements in a Home Sign System

Two deaf sisters (71 and 68 years old) use a home sign system that appears to have developed without input from conventional sign or spoken languages. Their home sign consists primarily of various pointing gestures and oral movements. Pointing gestures were found to be part of lexical terms and refer not only to the present person, object, or place but also to nonpresent objects. Moreover, some pointing gestures were referentially redundant and occupied fixed positions in sentences, suggesting that they were used as grammatical terms. In addition, oral movements were frequently used together with manual signs, and their functions may be classified as lexical, adverbial, and grammatical. Finally, grammatical components of this home sign system were compared with those of conventional sign languages in an attempt to reveal some shared characteristics in the gestural mode of communication.

A descriptive analysis of early word combinations in deaf children's signed utterances

The use of pointing and its place in word combinations and the organization of sentences were examined in children acquiring Japanese Sign Language as a first language. Subjects were three deaf children of signing deaf parents, and were aged from 1 year 9 months to 3 years 1 month at the time of observation. They were observed and videotaped periodically in free play settings. Pointing gestures were observed frequently in the earlier utterances in the development of sign language. It was also found that some pointing was referentially redundant and had a fixed position at the end of a sentence. This suggests that pointing, as well as being used referentially, plays a grammatical role in organizing the sentence.

Ultradian rhythms in infant's heart rate and behavior

Abstract The presence of ultradian rhythms in heart rate and a number of behaviors was examined in one infant who was equipped with a cordless cardiogram and was recorded on video tapes for 10 days. Continuous recordings of heart rate throughout the waking and sleep phases seem to show the continuous ultradian periodicity, however, power spectral analysis was not able to detect it because of the change accompanying wake‐sleep and sleep‐wake transitions. In the records for wakefulness, about 1 ‐hr periodicities were found in not only heart rate, but such behavior categories as Sitting, Standing, Manipulation, Grasping + Holding, and Urination. Cross spectral analysis of heart rate and the behaviors, and simultaneous recordings of heart rate and urination were also conducted to describe their interrelationships.