The language barrier of the chimpanzee Lana, previously described by Rumbaugh (1977), can be simulated by a computer model in which the animal selects, depending upon context, one of six stock sentences with fixed and variable elements.

Skilled motor actions are associated with handedness and neuroanatomical specializations in humans. Recent reports have documented similar neuroanatomical asymmetries and their relationship to hand preference in some nonhuman primate species, including chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys. We investigated whether capuchins displayed significant hand preferences for a tool use task and whether such preferences were associated with motor-processing regions of the brain. Handedness data on a dipping tool-use task and high-resolution 3T MRI scans were collected from 15 monkeys. Capuchins displayed a significant group-level left-hand preference for this type of tool use, and handedness was associated with asymmetry of the primary motor cortex. Left-hand preferent individuals displayed a deeper central sulcus in the right hemisphere. Our results suggest that capuchins show an underlying right-hemisphere bias for skilled movement.

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A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 145 Directory Assistance operators who used video display terminals (VDTs) to retrieve listings and by 105 control subjects who performed identical work except that they retrieved listings from printed paper records. The two groups exhibited few differences in their experience of work-related physical discomfort, in job satisfaction, or in their concerns about job security. Both groups were found to use eyeglasses and contact lenses to the same extent. VDT operators generally did not obtain special corrective lenses for work. The results show that replacing paper documents with VDTs need not adversely affect the comfort and morale of office workers.