MEGUERDITCHIAN Adrien

Telephone
Pro: (+33) 6 70 16 78 92
Status
Research Director
Team
DePhy: Développement et Phylogénie

 

đŸ‡«đŸ‡· POUR WEBPAGE EN FRANÇAIS, CLIQUEZ ICI đŸ‡«đŸ‡·

I am interested in the properties & development of communication systems in our primate cousins, including particularly gestural signals, and their links with several cognitive properties of human language. I wonder about the implications of gestures in the evolution of language, its hemispheric cerebral specialization and the predominance of right-handed people.

COMPARATIVE RESEARCH ACROSS PRIMATES

  • Handedness, Manual Preferences (manipulation versus gestural communication) and Cerebral Hemispheric Lateralization (brain imaging: MRI, fNIRS)
  • Gestural and vocal communication & Social cognition: Intentionality, Referential properties, Theory of Mind, Signal comprehension
  • Structure & coordination of behavioral units (gestures, postures, gaze, and vocalizations) in social interactions

 

TEAM

POST-DOC  
Katherine BRYANT

  • Katherine BRYANT – Postdoc ERC Gestimage, ILCB & then ANR BabOnto in collaboration with Olivier COULON (INT), Laurent PETIT & Michel THIEBAUT DE SCHOTTEN (GIN, Bordeaux Univ). Brilliant worldwide expert of the white matter organization and brain evolution in primates and other mammals, she is developing her comparative research on the structural connectivity of the brain across species, including the language-homolog tracts. After a PhD in Neuroscience at Emory University in Atlanta, she worked at Oxford University and published the first comprehensive white matter atlas of the chimpanzee.
PhD Students  

  • ElĂ©a THEBAULT - PhD in co-direction with AgnĂšs TREBUCHON (INS-APHM). 1st PhD student of my ANR project BABONTO, she has previously done her master research internships in neuropsychology with AgnĂšs TrĂ©buchon and me at the Hospital Timone for studying gesture and brain lateralization for language in epileptic patients. She is now extending her comparative research to the ontogeny of gesture and brain lateralization in growing baboons living in social groups at the Station de Primatologie of Rousset !

  • Siham BOUZIANE - PhD in co-direction with Jenny COULL (CRPN). She got the PhD student's fellowship at the doctoral school ED 356 for developping her original project on "ontogeny and phylogeny on temporal predictions & rhythm processing in baboons". After a master degree in Neurosciences in Toulouse and a intership in our team, she became central to the ERC Gestimage Project as a fantastic lab manager by coordinating all its related behavioral and MRI works in our developing baboons !
RESEARCH SITES & PRIMATES SPECIES  
  • Station de Primatologie SdP CNRS UAR846, France : Olive Baboons (Papio anubis), Squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus)
  • MRI Center (Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Marseille)
  • Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, USA : Chimpanzee in captivity (Pan troglodytes)
  

 

NEWS!

NEXT CONFERENCES
LAST PODCASTS/RADIO

Invited by France Culture, Radio Show CQFD "Parole de Primate", 58min; Feb.2025  đŸ‡«đŸ‡· 

Invited by Podcast CORDIScovery, "Mind-Reading", 33min, Nov.2024  đŸ‡ŹđŸ‡§

Invited by Radio Grenouille 2024, Radio Show Le GoĂ»t du Capri-sonne,  "L'invention du langage", 58min, Mai.2025  đŸ‡«đŸ‡· 
  
LAST VIDEOS INTERVIEW  đŸ‡«đŸ‡·

5min, Gircor, Feb 2026 - "A la découverte des racines du langage"

4min - CongrÚs Périnatalité ARIP 2022, Palais des Papes, Avignon

79min, Podcast "L'Esprit Curieux", March 2025

7min, Journal "La Recherche" - ANR / Festival Avignon, July 2024
LAST FILMED INVITED TALKS  đŸ‡«đŸ‡·

42min, CongrÚs Périnatalité ARIP 2024, Avignon

30min, Conference "Aux origines du langage humain", ICM 2024, Paris

95min, Conference "Un monde de droitiers? Aux origines des préférences manuelles", Université Populaire de Marseille, Mai 2025
  
LAST PRESS...
LAST PAPERS IN FRANCAIS  đŸ‡«đŸ‡·
  • Becker, Y., & Meguerditchian, A. (2023). Et si la clĂ© des origines du langage se trouvait dans le cerveau des singes ? The Conversation, 199824. [AccĂšs en ligne]
  • Meguerditchian, A. (2023). Aux frontiĂšres du langage dans la gestuelle des primates : De l’éthologie aux neurosciences comparatives. Revue Semestrielle de droit animalier, 2-2022, 269-284 [PDF]
LAST PAPERS IN ENGLISH  đŸ‡ŹđŸ‡§
  • Bryant, K. L., Le Troter, A., Meunier, D., Becker, Y., Love, S. A., Bouziane, S., Loh, K. K, Sein, J., Renaud, L., Coulon, O., & Meguerditchian, A. (2026). Longitudinal MRI template of the baboon brain from birth to adolescence. Imaging Neuroscience, 4: IMAG.a.1316. â â â â â â â [Free Online access]
  • Hopkins, W. D., Achorn, A. M., Mulholland, M. M., Magden, E. R., Schapiro; S. J., Fults, C. L., Mangin, J.-F., & Meguerditchian, A. (2026). A Comparative Study of Aging and Cortical Folding in Chimpanzees and Baboons. American Journal of Primatology, 88(7),  e70190 [Free Online Access]
  • Mortessagne, E., Bouziane, S., Meguerditchian, A., Pifferi, F., Pouydebat, E., & Bovet, D (2026). Effects of negative stimuli on object permanence performance in baboons, Papio anubis, according to task complexity. Animal Behaviour, 231, 123427. [Free Online access]
  • Meguerditchian, A. (in press 2026). Do baboons point? A review of research on gestural communication in a non-anthropoid primate. In M. Krause, D. Leavens, & K. Bard (Eds.), Pointing: Culture, Development, and Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  • Hopkins, W. D., & Meguerditchian, A. (2025). Handedness and Brain Asymmetries in Nonhuman Primates. In C. Papagno & P. Corballis (Eds.), Cerebral Asymmetries - Handbook of clinical neurology (Vol. 208, pp. 197–210). Amsterdam: Elsevier. [doi]
  • Becker, Y., Phelipon, R., Marie, D., Bouziane, S., Marchetti, R., Sein, J., Velly, L., Renaud, L., Cermolacce, A., Anton, J.-L., Nazarian, B., Coulon, O., & Meguerditchian, A. (2024). Planum Temporale asymmetry in newborn monkeys predicts the future development of gestural communication's handedness. Nature Communications, 15, 4791  [Free Online access]
  • Margiotoudi, K., Fagot, J., Meguerditchian, A., & Dautriche, I. (2024). Humans (Homo sapiens) but not baboons (Papio papio) demonstrate crossmodal pitch‐luminance correspondence. American Journal of Primatology, e23613. [doi] [Res.Gate] [PDF]
  

PUBLICATIONS IN FRENCH  đŸ‡«đŸ‡·  

PhD Thesis
  • Meguerditchian, A. (octobre, 2009). LatĂ©ralitĂ© et communication gestuelle chez le babouin et le chimpanzĂ© : Ă  la recherche des prĂ©curseurs du langage. ThĂšse de doctorat de l’UniversitĂ© de Provence (mention Psychologie) sous la direction de Jacques VAUCLAIR. Aix-en-Provence, France. [PDF]
POPULARIZATION PAPERS
  • [85]  Becker, Y., & Meguerditchian, A. (2023). Et si la clĂ© des origines du langage se trouvait dans le cerveau des singes ? The Conversation, 199824. [AccĂšs en ligne]
  • [84] Meguerditchian, A. (fĂ©vrier 2022). La communication de nos cousins les primates, quelles similitudes avec le langage?  In J.-F. Marmion (Ed.), Psychologie des animaux (pp. 177-189). Auxerre: Editions Sciences Humaines.
  • [83]  Meguerditchian, A. (juin 2019). Au commencement Ă©tait... le Geste. La Recherche - Les Essentielles "Le GĂ©nie de l'animal" 30, 23-27. [PDF]
  • [82]  Meguerditchian, A. (nov. 2018). Communication, du primate Ă  l'humain. Le Cercle Psy - Hors-Serie "La Psychologie des Animaux", 7, 54-57. [PDF]
  • [81]  Meguerditchian, A. (juil. 2018). Les origines gestuelles du langage. La Recherche, 537, 74-78. [PDF]
  • [80]  Meguerditchian, A. (2014). Des singes ingĂ©nieux. In O. NĂ©ron de Surgy & S. Tirard (Eds.), Les sciences des sixties (pp. 37-39). Paris : Éditions Belin. [PDF]
  • [79]  Primat, N., & Meguerditchian, A. (2010). Le Chakra du babouin. In M. Borillo (Ed.), Dans l’atelier de l’art : ExpĂ©riences Cognitives (pp. 221-242). Seyssel : Editions Champ Vallon.
  • [78]  Meguerditchian, A., & Vauclair, J. (2006). Aux origines du langage. Cerveau & Psycho, 17, 84-87. [PDF]
DIRECTION SPECIAL ISSUE
  • [77]   Meguerditchian, A. (Ed.) (2013). Dossier: Communication des primates : Ă  la recherche des origines du langage. Revue Primatologie, 5. [AccĂšs libre]
REVIEW PAPERS
  • [76]  Meguerditchian, A. (2023). Aux frontiĂšres du langage dans la gestuelle des primates : De l’éthologie aux neurosciences comparatives. Revue Semestrielle de droit animalier, 2-2022, 269-284 [PDF]
  • [75]  Mondada, L., & Meguerditchian, A. (2022). Ouvertures et salutations entre babouins : organisation de la sĂ©quence et orientation incarnĂ©e vers l’autre. Langage et SociĂ©tĂ©, 176, 127-160. [doi] [Res.Gate] [PDF] 
  • [74]   Meguerditchian, A. (2019). L’origine gestuelle du langage : l’apport des recherches en primatologie. In C. Courtet, M. Besson, F. Lavocat, & A. Viala (Eds.), Le Jeu et la RĂšgle: Rencontres Recherche et CrĂ©ation du Festival d'Avignon (pp. 13-25). Paris : CNRS Ă©ditions. [PDF] 
  • [73]   Meguerditchian, A. (2014). Pour une large approche comparative entre primates dans les recherches sur les origines de l’homme : l’exemple de la latĂ©ralitĂ© manuelle. Bulletins et mĂ©moires de la SociĂ©tĂ© d’anthropologie de Paris, 26, 166-171. [PDF] 
  • [72]   Meguerditchian, A. (2013). Introduction - Dossier:  Communication des primates humains et non humains : Ă  la recherche des origines du langage. Revue Primatologie, 5. [PDF]
  • [71]   Meguerditchian, A., Cochet, H., Wallez, C. & Vauclair, J. (2013). Communication, latĂ©ralitĂ© et cerveau chez les primates humains et non humains : vers une origine gestuelle ou multimodale du langage ?Revue Primatologie, 5. [PDF]

PUBLICATIONS IN ENGLISH  đŸ‡ŹđŸ‡§   

ORIGINAL RESEARCH
2026
  • [70] Hopkins, W. D., Achorn, A. M., Mulholland, M. M., Magden, E. R., Schapiro; S. J., Fults, C. L., Mangin, J.-F., & Meguerditchian, A. (2026). A Comparative Study of Aging and Cortical Folding in Chimpanzees and Baboons. American Journal of Primatology, 88(7),  e70190 [Free Online Access]
  • [69] Bryant, K. L., Le Troter, A., Meunier, D., Becker, Y., Love, S. A., Bouziane, S., Loh, K. K, Sein, J., Renaud, L., Coulon, O., & Meguerditchian, A. (2026). Longitudinal MRI template of the baboon brain from birth to adolescence. Imaging Neuroscience, 4: IMAG.a.1316. â â â â â â â [Free Online access]
  • [68] Mortessagne, E., Bouziane, S., Meguerditchian, A., Pifferi, F., Pouydebat, E., & Bovet, D (2026). Effects of negative stimuli on object permanence performance in baboons, Papio anubis, according to task complexity. Animal Behaviour, 231, 123427. [PDF Online access]
2024
  • [67] Becker, Y., Phelipon, R., Marie, D., Bouziane, S., Marchetti, R., Sein, J., Velly, L., Renaud, L., Cermolacce, A., Anton, J.-L., Nazarian, B., Coulon, O., & Meguerditchian, A. (2024). Planum Temporale asymmetry in newborn monkeys predicts the future development of gestural communication's handedness. Nature Communications, 15, 4791  [PDF Online access]
  • [66] Margiotoudi, K., Fagot, J., Meguerditchian, A., & Dautriche, I. (2024). Humans (Homo sapiens) but not baboons (Papio papio) demonstrate crossmodal pitch‐luminance correspondence. American Journal of Primatology, e23613. [doi] [Res.Gate] [PDF]
2023
  • [65] Amiez, C., Verstraete, C., Sallet, J., Hadj-Bouziane, F., Ben Hamed, S., Meguerditchian, A., Procyk, E., Wilson, C. R. E, Petrides, M., Sherwood, C. C., & Hopkins, W. D., (2023). The unique anatomy of the prefrontal operculum in the human brain and its relevance to the emergence of speech. Communications Biology, 6, 693. [PDF Online access]
  • [64] Amiez, C., Sallet, J., Giacometti, C., Verstraete, C., Gandaux, C., Morel-Latour, V., Meguerditchian, A., Hadj-Bouziane, F., Ben Hamed, S., Hopkins, W. D., Procyk, E., Wilson, C. R. E, & Petrides, M. (2023). A novel perspective on the evolution of the lateral frontal cortex in primates. Science Advances, 9, eadf9445. [PDF Online access]
  • [63]  Hopkins, W. D., Coulon, O., Meguerditchian, A., Staes, N., Sherwood, C. C., Schapiro, S. J., Mangin, J.-F., & Bradley, B. (2023). Genetic determinants of individual variation in the superior temporal sulcus of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Cerebral Cortex, 33, 1925–1940.  [doi] [Res.Gate] [PDF]
  • [62]  Mulholland, M. M., Meguerditchian, A., & Hopkins, W. D. (2023). Age- and sex-related differences in baboon (Papio anubis) gray matter covariation. Neurobiology of Aging, 125, 41-48. [doi] [Res.Gate] [PDF preprint]
2022
  • [61]  Debracque, C., Gruber, T., Lacoste, R., Meguerditchian, A., & Grandjean, D. (2022). Cerebral Activity in Female Baboons (Papio anubis) During the Perception of Conspecific and Heterospecific Agonistic Vocalizations: a Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Study. Affective Science, 3, 783–791. [doi] [Res.Gate] [PDF]
  • [60]  Mondada, L., & Meguerditchian, A. (2022). Sequence organization and embodied mutual orientations: openings of social interactions between baboons. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 377, 20210101. [doi] [PDF]
  • [59]  Becker, Y., Sein, J., Velly, L., Renaud, L., Lacoste, & Meguerditchian, A. (2022). Planum Temporale grey matter volume asymmetries in new-born monkeys (Papio anubis). Brain Structure and Function. 227, 463–468  [doi]  [PDF preprint]
  • [58]  Becker, Y., ClaidiĂšre, N., Margiotoudi, K., Marie, D., Roth, M., Nazarian, B., Lacoste, R., Anton, J.-L., Coulon, O., & Meguerditchian, A. (2022). Broca's cerebral asymmetry reflects gestural communication's lateralisation in monkeys (Papio anubis), eLife, 11, e70521. [PDF]
  • [57]  Boulinguez-Ambroise, G., Pouydebat, E., Disarbois, E., & Meguerditchian, A. (2022). Maternal cradling bias in baboons: The first environmental factor affecting early infant handedness development? Developmental Science, 25, e13179. [PDF preprint] 
2021
  • [56]  Westerhausen, R., & Meguerditchian, A. (2021). Corpus callosum morphology across the lifespan in baboons (Papio anubis): a cross-sectional study of relative mid-sagittal surface area and thickness.Neuroscience Research [PDF] [Free Access]
  • [55]   Boulinguez-Ambroise, G., Herrel, A., Berillon, G., Cornette, R., Young, J. W., Meguerditchian, A., & Pouydebat, E. (2021). Increased performance in juvenile baboons is consistent with ontogenetic changes in morphology. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 175, 546-558. [DOI]
  • [54]   Debracque, C., Gruber, T., Lacoste, R., Grandjean, D., & Meguerditchian, A. (2021). Validating the use of functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy in monkeys: The case of brain activation lateralization in Papio Anubis. Behavioural Brain research, 403, 113133. [PDF] [Free Acess]
  • [53]   Becker, Y., Sein, J., Velly, L., Giacomino, L., Renaud, L., Lacoste, R., Anton, J.-L., Nazarian, B., Berne, C., & Meguerditchian, A. (2021). Early Left-Planum Temporale Asymmetry in Newborn Monkeys (Papio anubis): A Longitudinal Structural MRI Study at Two Stages of Development. NeuroImage, 227, 117575. [PDF] [Free Access]
  • [52]   Meguerditchian, A., Marie, D., Margiotoudi, K., Roth, M., Nazarian, B., Anton, J.-L., & ClaidiĂšre, N. (2021). Baboons (Papio anubis) living in larger social groups have bigger brains. Evolution and Human Behavior, 42(1), 30-34. [PDF]
2020
  • [51]   Boulinguez-Ambroise, G., Pouydebat, E., Disarbois, E., & Meguerditchian, A. (2020). Human-like maternal left-cradling bias in monkeys is altered by social pressure. Scientific Reports, 10, 11036. [PDF][Free Access] 
  • [50]   Molesti, S., Meguerditchian, A., & Bourjade, M. (2020). Gestural communication in olive baboons (Papio anubis): repertoire and intentionality. Animal Cognition, 23, 19–40. [PDF]
  • [49]   Pope, S. M., Fagot, J., Meguerditchian, A., Watzek, J., Lew-Levy, S., Autrey, M. M., & Hopkins, W. D. (2020). Optional-Switch Cognitive Flexibility in Primates: Chimpanzees’ (Pan troglodytes) Intermediate Susceptibility to Cognitive Set. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 134(1), 98-109. [PDF]
2019
  • [48]   Amiez, C., Sallet, J., Hopkins, W. D., Meguerditchian, A., Hadj-Bouziane, F., BenHamed, S., Wilson, C. R. E., Procyk, E., & Petrides, M. (2019). Sulcal organization in the medial frontal cortex provides insights into primate brain evolution. Nature Communication, 10, 3437. [PDF]
  • [47]   Margiotoudi, K., Marie, D., ClaidiĂšre, N., Coulon, O., Roth, M., Nazarian, B., Lacoste, R., Hopkins, W. D., Molesti, S., Fresnais, P., Anton, J.-L. & Meguerditchian, A. (2019). Handedness in monkeys reflects hemispheric specialization within the central sulcus. An in vivo MRI study in right- versus left-handed baboons (Papio anubis). Cortex, 118, 203-211. [PDF]
  • [46]   Bourjade, M., Gaunet, F., Maugard, A., & Meguerditchian, A. (2019). Manipulating social cues in baboon gesture learning: what does it tell us about the evolution of communication? Animal Cognition,  22(1), 113–125. [PDF]
  • [45]   Pope, S. M., Fagot, J., Meguerditchian, A., Washburn, D. A., & Hopkins, W. D. (2019). Enhanced cognitive flexibility in the semi-nomadic Himba. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 50(1), 47-62. [PDF]
2018
  • [44]   Marie, D., Roth, M., Lacoste, R., Nazarian, B., Bertello, A., Anton, J.-L., Hopkins, W. D., Margioutoudi, K., Love A. S., & Meguerditchian, A. (2018). Left Brain Asymmetry of the Planum Temporale in a non-Hominid primate: Redefining the origin of brain specialization for language. Cerebral Cortex, 28, 1808-1815. [PDF]
2017
  • [43]   Hopkins, W. D., Coulon, O., Meguerditchian, A., Autrey, M., Davidek, K., Mahovetz, L., Pope, S. M., Latash, E. M., Mareno, M. C., & Schapiro, S. J. (2017). Genetic Factors and Oro-Facial Motor Learning Selectively Influence Variability in Central Sulcus Morphology in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Journal of Neuroscience, 37, 5475–5483. [PDF]
  • [42]   Berthommier, F., BoĂ« L.-J., Meguerditchian, A., Sawallis, T., & Captier, G. (2017). The Baboon Vocal Tract in Light of Exaptation: Larynx, Hyoid, and Tongue Anatomy. In L.-J. BoĂ«, J. Fagot, P. Perrier, & J.-L. Schwartz (Eds., in press). Origins of Human Language: continuities and splits with nonhuman primates (pp.101-135). Oxford : Peter Lang. [PDF]
  • [41]   Hopkins, W. D., Meguerditchian, A., Coulon, O., Misiura, M., Pope, S., Mareno, M. C., & Schapiro, S. J. (2017). Motor Skill for Tool-Use is Associated with Left Hemisphere Asymmetries in the Motor Hand Area of the Precentral Gyrus. Behavioural Brain Research, 318, 71-81. [PDF]
2016
  • [40]   Molesti, S., Vauclair, J., & Meguerditchian, A. (2016). Hand preferences for unimanual and bimanual coordinated actions in olive baboons (Papio anubis) : consistency over time and across populations. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 130, 341-350. [PDF]
  • [39]   Parron, C., & Meguerditchian, A. (2016). Gaze following in baboons (Papio anubis) : Juveniles adjust their gaze and body position to human’s head redirections. American Journal of Primatology, 78, 1265–1271. [PDF]
  • [38]   Love, S., Marie, D., Roth, M., Lacoste, R., Nazarian, B., Bertello, A., Coulon, O., Anton, J.-L., & Meguerditchian, A. (2016). The average baboon brain : MRI templates and tissue probability maps from 89 individuals. NeuroImage, 132, 526-533.  [Res.Gate]  [PDF]
2015
  • [37]   Meguerditchian, A., Phillips, K., Chapelain, A., Stoinski, T., Bania, A., Lonsdorf, E. V., Schaeffer, J., Russell, J., & Hopkins, W. D. (2015). Handedness for Unimanual Grasping in 564 Great Apes : The Effect on Grip Morphology and a Comparison with Hand Use for a Bimanual Coordinated Task. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 1794.  [Free Access]  [PDF]
  • [36]   Pope, S. M., Meguerditchian, A., Hopkins, W. D., & Fagot, J. (2015). Baboons (Papio papio), but not humans, break cognitive set in a visuomotor task. Animal Cognition, 18, 1339–1346. [PDF]
  • [35]   Bourjade, M., Canteloup, C., Meguerditchian, A., Vauclair, J., & Gaunet, F. (2015). Training experience in gestures affects the display of social gaze in baboons’ communication with a human.Animal Cognition, 18, 239-250. [PDF]
  • [34]   Hopkins, W. D., Schaeffer, J., Russell, J. L., Bogart, S. L., Meguerditchian, A., & Coulon, O. (2015). A Comparative Assessment of Handedness and its Potential Neuroanatomical Correlates in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and Bonobos (Pan paniscus). Behaviour, 152, 461 - 492. [PDF]
2014
  • [33]   Hopkins, W. D., Meguerditchian, A., Coulon, O., Bogart, S., Mangin, J., Sherwood, C. C., Bennett, A. J., Pierre, P. J., Fears, S., Woods, R., Hof, P. R., & Vauclair, J. (2014). Evolution of the central sulcus shape and morphology in primates. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 84, 19-30. [PDF]
  • [32]   Bourjade, M., Meguerditchian, A., Maille, A., Gaunet, F., & Vauclair, J. (2014). Olive baboons (Papio anubis) adjust their visual and auditory intentional gestures to the visual attention of others. Animal Behaviour, 87, 121-128. [PDF]
2013
  • [31]   Potier, C., Meguerditchian, A., & Fagard, J. (2013). Handedness for bimanual coordinated actions in infants as a function of grip morphology. Laterality, 18, 576—593. [PDF]
2012
  • [30]   Hopkins, W. D., Pika, S., Liebal, K., Bania, A., Meguerditchian, A., Gardner, M., & Schapiro, S. J. (2012). Handedness for manual gestures in great apes : A meta-analysis. In S. Pika, & K. Liebal (Eds.), Developments in Primate Gesture Research (pp. 93-112). Amsterdam : John Benjamins.
  • [29]   Bogart, S. L., Pruetz, J. D., Ormiston, L. K., Russell, J. L., Meguerditchian, A., & Hopkins, W. D., (2012). Termite fishing laterality in the Fongoli savanna chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) : Further evidence of a left hand preference. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 149, 591–598. [PDF]
  • [28]   Meguerditchian, A., Gardner, M. J., Schapiro, S. J., Hopkins, W. D. (2012). The sound of one hand clapping : handedness and perisylvian neural correlates of a communicative gesture in chimpanzees. Proceeding of the Royal Society Biology, 279, 1959-1966. [PDF]
  • [27]   Wallez, C., Schaeffer, J., Meguerditchian, A., Vauclair, J., Schapiro, S. J., & Hopkins, W. D. (2012). Contrast of hemispheric lateralization for oro-facial movements between learned attention-getting sounds and species-typical vocalizations in chimpanzees : extension in a second colony. Brain and Language, 123, 75–79. [PDF]
  • [26]   Meguerditchian, A., Donnot, J., Molesti, S., Francioly, R., & Vauclair, J. (2012). Sex difference in squirrel monkeys handedness for unimanual and bimanual coordinated tasks. Animal Behaviour, 83, 635-643. [PDF]
2005-2011
  • [25]   Meguerditchian, A., Molesti, S., & Vauclair, J. (2011). Right-handedness predominance in 162 baboons for gestural communication : Consistency across time and groups. Behavioral Neuroscience, 125, 653-660. [PDF]
  • [24]   Meguerditchian, A., Vauclair, J., & Hopkins, W. D. (2010). Captive chimpanzees use their right hand to communicate with each other : Implications for the origins of hemispheric specialization for language. Cortex, 46, 40-48. [PDF]
  • [23]   Meguerditchian, A., Calcutt, S. E., Lonsdorf, E. V., Ross, S. R., & Hopkins, W. D. (2010). Captive gorillas are right-handed for bimanual feeding. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 141, 638-645. [PDF]
  • [22]   Meguerditchian, A., & Vauclair, J. (2009). Contrast of hand preferences between communicative gestures and non communicative actions in baboons : implications for the origins of hemispheric specialization for language. Brain and Language, 108, 167–174. [PDF]
  • [21]   Losin, E., Russell, J. L., Freeman, H., Meguerditchian, A., & Hopkins, W. D. (2008). Left hemisphere specialization for oro-facial movements of learned vocal signals by captive chimpanzees. PlosOne, 3(6), e2529. [PDF]
  • [20]   Hopkins, W. D., Taglialatela, J. P., Meguerditchian, A., Nir, T., Schenker, N. M., & Sherwood, C. C. (2008). Gray matter asymmetries in chimpanzees as revealed by voxel-based morphology. Neuroimage, 42, 491-497. [PDF]
  • [19]   Meguerditchian, A., & Vauclair, J. (2006). Baboons communicate with their right hand. Behavioral Brain Research, 171, 170-174. [Res. Gate]  [PDF]
  • [18]   Vauclair, J., Meguerditchian, A., & Hopkins, W. D. (2005). Hand preferences for unimanual and coordinated bimanual tasks in baboons (Papio anubis). Cognitive Brain Research, 25, 210-216. [PDF]
REVIEW, THEORY, OPINION PAPERS
2025...
  • [17]  Meguerditchian, A. (in press 2026). Do baboons point? A review of research on gestural communication in a non-anthropoid primate. In M. Krause, D. Leavens, & K. Bard (Eds.), Pointing: Culture, Development, and Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  • [16] Hopkins, W. D., & Meguerditchian, A. (2025). Handedness and Brain Asymmetries in Nonhuman Primates. In C. Papagno & P. Corballis (Eds.), Cerebral Asymmetries - Handbook of clinical neurology (Vol. 208, pp. 197–210). Amsterdam: Elsevier. [doi]
2022
  • [15]   Becker, Y., Loh, K. K., Coulon, O., & Meguerditchian, A. (2022). Arcuate Fasciculus’ middle and ventral temporal connections undercut by tract-tracing evidence. Brain, 145, e66–e68. [doi] [Res.Gate] [PDF]
  • [14]   Becker, Y., Loh, K. K., Coulon, O., & Meguerditchian, A. (2022). The Arcuate Fasciculus and language origins: Disentangling existing conceptions that influence evolutionary accounts. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral reviews, 134, 104490 [PDF preprint]
  • [13]   Becker, Y., & Meguerditchian, A. (2022). Structural brain asymmetries for language: a comparative approach across primates.Symmetry, 14(5), 876. [PDF Res.Gate]
  • [12]   Meguerditchian, A. (2022). On the gestural origins of language : What baboons' gestures and brain have told us after 15 years of research. Ethology, Ecology & Evolution, 34(3), 288-302 [PDF preprint]
2021
  • [11]   Song, X., Garcia, P., Kindred, N., Wang, Y., Merchant, H., Meguerditchian, A., Yang, Y., Stein, E. A., Charles, B. W., Ben Hamed, S., Jedema, H. P., & Poirier, C. (2021). Strengths and challenges of longitudinal primate neuroimaging. NeuroImage, 236, 118009.  [PDF] [Free Access]
  • [10]   Poirier, C., Ben Hamed, S., Garcia-Saldivar, P., Kwok, S. C., Meguerditchian, A., Merchant, H., Rogers, J., Sara Wells, S., & Fox, A. S. (2021). Beyond MRI: on the scientific value of combining non-human primate neuroimaging with metadata. NeuroImage, 228, 117679. [PDF] [Free Access]
2020
  • [9]   Milham, M., Petkov, C. I., Margulies, D. S., (...), Meguerditchian, A., (
), & Zarco, W. (2020). Accelerating the Evolution of Nonhuman Primate Neuroimaging. Neuron, 105(4), 600-603.  [PDF]
2019
  • [8]   Fagot, J., BoĂ«, L.-J., Berthomier, F., ClaidiĂšre, N, Malassis, R., Meguerditchian, A., Rey, A,  & Montant, M. (2019). The baboon: a model for the study of language evolution. Journal of Human Evolution, 126, 39-50. [PDF]
2007-2014
  • [7]   Meguerditchian, A., & Vauclair, J. (2014). Communicative signaling, lateralization and brain substrate in nonhuman primates : Toward a gestural or a multimodal origin of language ? Humana Mente - Journal of Philosophical Studies, 27, 135-160. [PDF]
  • [6]   Meguerditchian, A., Taglialatela, J. P., Leavens, D. A., & Hopkins, W. D. (2014). Commentary on Ackermann et al. : Why vocal production of atypical sounds in apes and its cerebral correlates have a lot to say about the origin of language? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 37, 565-566. [PDF]
  • [5]   Meguerditchian, A., Vauclair, J., & Hopkins, W. D. (2013). On the origins of human handedness and language : A comparative review of hand preferences for bimanual coordinated actions and gestural communication in nonhuman primates. Developmental Psychobiology, 55, 637–650. [PDF]
  • [4]   Meguerditchian, A., Cochet, H., & Vauclair, J. (2011). From gesture to language : ontogenetic and phylogenetic perspectives on gestural communication and its cerebral lateralization. In A. Vilain, J.L. Schwartz, C. Abry, & J. Vauclair (Eds.), Primate Communication and Human Language : Vocalisation, gestures, imitation and deixis in humans and non-humans (pp. 89-118) Amsterdam : John Benjamins. [PDF]
  • [3]   Meguerditchian, A., & Vauclair, J. (2008). Vocal and gestural communication in non human primates and the question of the origin of language. In L.S. Röska-Hardy & E.M. Neumann-Held (Eds.), Learning from animals ? Examining the nature of human uniqueness (pp. 61-85). London : Psychology Press. [PDF]
  • [2]   Vauclair, J., & Meguerditchian, A. (2008). The gestural origin of language and its lateralization : theory and data from studies in nonhuman primates. In S. Kern, F. Gayraud, & E. Marsico (Eds.), Emergence of linguistic abilities : From gestures to grammar (pp. 43-59). Cambridge : Cambridge Scholars Publishing. [PDF]
  • [1]   Vauclair, J., & Meguerditchian, A. (2007). Perceptual and motor lateralization in two species of baboons. In W.D. Hopkins (Ed.), Evolution of hemispheric specialization in primates, Special topics in primatology (pp. 177-198). London : Elsevier/Academic Press. [PDF]

TEACHING

Licence I Psychologie, Cours Magistraux, Université Aix-Marseille, Marseille
"Ethologie, comportement et psychologie animale"

Master I & II Sciences Cognitive MaSCo, Université Aix-Marseille, Marseille
- "Language, cognition & animal communication", CM & TD, Master I
- "Intro aux Sciences Cognitives: la Cognition Comparée", CM, Master I
- "Comparative brain language research", CM, Master II

International Summer School of the Institut Language Communication and the Brain (ILCB), Université Aix-Marseille, Marseille
"From Aristotle to Cognitive Science: Introduction to Behavioral Sciences"

Master 1 d’Ethologie, Cours Magistraux, UniversitĂ© Paris 13, Villetaneuse
"Langage et communication animale" (UE Communication)

1Ăšre annĂ©e Ă©cole de PsychomotricitĂ©, Cours Magistraux, ISRP – Institut SupĂ©rieur de RĂ©Ă©ducation Psychomotrice, Marseille
"Psychologie comparée & Ethologie" (UE Psychologie)

Formation CNRS & INSERM, Expérimentation animale I & II, Marseille
"Ethologie & Cognition animale"

Formation CNRS, Session Primatologie, Marseille
"Bien ĂȘtre & "Clicker training" des primates"

PREVIOUS TEAM MEMBERS 

FORMER POST-DOC

2021-2023  Konstantina MARGIOTOUDI, Fyssen Post-doc

2021-2022   Shreejata GUPTA, ERC Post-doc

2020-2021   Kep Kee LOH, ERC Post-doc

2017-2019   Piera FILIPPI, Labex BLRI postdoc, co-dir. M. D'Imperio (LPL, Aix)

2015            Scott LOVE, ANR postdoc (LangPrimate)

2014-2015   Damien MARIE, ANR postdoc (LangPrimate)

2013-2014   Marie BOURJADE, ANR postdoc (LangPrimate)

 

FORMER PhD STUDENTS    

2018-2022   Yannick BECKER, PhD in Neuroscience in codirection with Olivier Coulon (INT, Marseille)

2017-2020   GrĂ©goire BOULINGUEZ-AMBROISE, PhD in Anthropology in codirection with Emmanuelle Pouydebat (MNHN, Paris)

2013-2018   Sarah POPE, PhD in Psychology in codirection with JoĂ«l Fagot (LPC) and William D. Hopkins (Texas Univ, USA) in co-tutelle with Georgia State Univ (USA)

PRESS

2025

 

2024

 

2022

 

2021

 

2020

 

2019

  • HORIZON, the EU research & innovation magazine : "Hand gestures point towards the origins of language"
  • La Recherche – Les Essentiels : "Le GĂ©nie Animal", n°30 "Le Singe, un modĂšle d’altruisme"
  • La Vie – Hors sĂ©rie : "L’intelligence des animaux", "De vrais Singes Savants !"

 

2017

 

2016

 

2015

 

2014

 

2013

 

2010

 

2009

 

2006