Differences in social and vocal behavior between left- and right-handed common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus).

Abstract

Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) show either a left- or right-hand preference for reaching to pick up food and they retain the same preference throughout adult life. We compared the behavior of 10 right-handed and 10 left-handed marmosets, matched for age and sex. They were presented with live crickets both when alone and when in their social group. The marmosets captured more crickets and the latency to capture the first cricket was shorter when they were in a group than when they were alone. This effect of social facilitation was significantly greater for right- than left-handed individuals. The number of vocalizations (tsik, crackle, very brief whistle, cough, and phee) produced by the left- and right-handed marmosets differed significantly: right-handed marmosets produced an increased number of all of these calls when the crickets were presented, whereas left-handed marmosets did not show a change from pretesting levels. The right-handed marmosets also produced more tsik (mobbing) calls than left-handed marmosets when they were presented with a fear-inducing stimulus and performed more head cocking and parallax movements than the left-handed marmosets. Hence, hand preference is associated with differences in exploratory and social behavior, the latter including vocal communication.