What animal model provides the closest match to human vocalization?

[Pete Howell <p.howell@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I was deliberately vague as I was 
interested in getting a range of suggestions (btw the goat was really 
funny). Mutations in mice and zebra finches have been used to model 
speech disorders where auditory feedback processes are often thought 
to be implicated. The primary interest is in how CNS connectivity is 
affected. But people have looked at each of these species' 
vocalizations after mutation and then drawn parallels with disordered 
speech. My worry about the animal models is that the vocalization 
behaviors that have been observed are very different from human 
speech in both its natural and disordered forms. So, I wondered 
whether there was an animal model we could start with that vocalized 
and heard in closer ways to humans than the existing models. Then we 
could have a good look at the parallels to speech disorders after 
mutation in a systematic way (whether articulatory coordination is 
affected, whether they show tonic and clonic features etc.). I'd 
overlooked the point Stuart made - that I should look for species 
that vocalize a lot, so ta for that. We only have limited facilities 
and licenses for animal work, so I am still actively seeking 
suggestions, so please continue suggestions.
Peter

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