Toward Interdisciplinary Integration in the Study of Comparative Cognition: Insights from Studying the Evolution of Multimodal Communication

Abstract

In this article, we highlight the importance of interdisciplinary integration in the study of comparative cognition. Specifically, we argue that the study of comparative cognition can benefit from broadening its focus and integrating information from diverse subfields and including collaborations from other fields. We take the evolution of multimodal communication as an example to illustrate that an interdisciplinary integration of linguistics, animal behavior, cognitive neuroscience, and genetics provides a more comprehensive picture of this phenomenon.