Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Cognitive evolution'

A satisfactory account of human cognitive evolution will explain not only the psychological mechanisms that make our species unique, but also how, when, and why these traits evolved. To date, researchers have made substantial progress toward defining uniquely human aspects of cognition, but considerably less effort has been devoted to questions about the evolutionary processes through which these traits have arisen. In this article, I aim to link these complementary aims by synthesizing recent advances in our understanding of what makes human cognition unique, with theory and data regarding the processes of cognitive evolution. I review evidence that uniquely human cognition depends on synergism between both representational and motivational factors and is unlikely to be accounted for by changes to any singular cognitive system. I argue that, whereas no nonhuman animal possesses the full constellation of traits that define the human mind, homologies and analogies of critical aspects of human psychology can be found in diverse nonhuman taxa. I suggest that phylogenetic approaches to the study of animal cognition-which can address questions about the selective pressures and proximate mechanisms driving cognitive change-have the potential to yield important insights regarding the processes through which the human cognitive phenotype evolved.

Thesis: Ph. D. in Neuroscience, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, February, 2021
Cataloged from the official PDF version of thesis. "February 2021."
Includes bibliographical references (pages 190-207).
The biophysical features of neurons are the building blocks of computation in the brain. Dendrites are the physical site of the vast majority of synaptic connections and can expand the information processing capabilities of neurons. Due to their complex morphological attributes and various ion channels, dendrites shape how thousands of inputs are integrated into behaviorally-relevant outputs at the level of individual neurons. However, several long-standing issues limit our understanding of dendritic biophysics. In addition to distorted electrophysiological measurements, prior studies have largely been limited to ex vivo preparations from rodent animal models, providing little insight for computation in the awake human brain. In this thesis, we overcome these limitations to provide new insights on biophysics at the intersection of dendritic morphology and evolution. In chapter 1, we demonstrate that voltage-clamp analysis, which was employed to derive much of our understanding of synaptic transmission, is incompatible with most synapses because they reside on electrically-compartmentalized spines. We also develop new approaches to provide accurate measurements of synaptic strength. Then, in chapter 2, we directly correlate somatic and distal dendritic activity in the awake mouse visual cortex to show an unexpectedly high degree of coupling in vivo. In chapter 3, we perform dendritic recordings in large human neurons to reveal distinct integrative properties from commonly studied rat neurons. Finally, in chapter 4, we characterize neurons in 10 mammalian species to extract evolutionary rules governing neuronal biophysics and uncover human specializations. Together, these four thesis projects expand our understanding of the influence of dendritic geometry and evolution on neuronal biophysics.
by Lou Beaulieu-Laroche.
Ph. D. in Neuroscience
Ph.D.inNeuroscience Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Psychological & Brain Sciences and Cognitive Sciences, 2009.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 20, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-12, Section: B, page: 7875. Adviser: Richard M. Shiffrin.

Cultural artifacts, such as language, survive and replicate by passing from mind to mind. Cultural evolution always proceeds by an inductive process, where behaviors are never directly copied, but reverse engineered by the cognitive mechanisms involved in learning and production. I will refer to this type of evolutionary change as inductive evolution and explain how this represents a broader class of evolutionary processes that can include both neutral and selective evolution. This thesis takes a mechanistic approach to understanding the forces of evolution underlying change in culture over time, where the mechanisms of change are sought within human cognition. I define culture as anything that replicates by passing through a cognitive system and take language as a premier example of culture, because of the wealth of knowledge about linguistic behaviors (external language) and its cognitive processing mechanisms (internal language). Mainstream cultural evolution theories related to social learning and social transmission of information define culture ideationally, as the subset of socially-acquired information in cognition that affects behaviors. Their goal is to explain behaviors with culture and avoid circularity by defining behaviors as markedly not part of culture. I take a reductionistic approach and argue that all there is to culture is brain states and behaviors, and further, that a complete explanation of the forces of cultural change can not be explained by a subset of cognition related to social learning, but necessarily involves domain-general mechanisms, because cognition is an integrated system. Such an approach should decompose culture into its constituent parts and explore 1) how brains states effect behavior, 2) how behavior effects brain states, and 3) how brain states and behaviors change over time when they are linked up in a process of cultural transmission, where one person's behavior is the input to another. I conduct several psychological experiments on frequency learning with adult learners and describe the behavioral biases that alter the frequencies of linguistic variants over time. I also fit probabilistic models of cognition to participant data to understand the inductive biases at play during linguistic frequency learning. Using these inductive and behavioral biases, I infer a Markov model over my empirical data to extrapolate participants' behavior forward in cultural evolutionary time and determine equivalences (and divergences) between inductive evolution and standard models from population genetics. As a key divergence point, I introduce the concept of non-binomial cultural drift, argue that this is a rampant form of neutral evolution in culture, and empirically demonstrate that probability matching is one such inductive mechanism that results in non-binomial cultural drift. I argue further that all inductive problems involving representativeness are potential drivers of neutral evolution unique to cultural systems. I also explore deviations from probability matching and describe non-neutral evolution due to inductive regularization biases in a linguistic and non-linguistic domain. Here, I offer a new take on an old debate about the domain-specificity vs -generality of the cognitive mechanisms involved in language processing, and show that the evolution of regularity in language cannot be predicted in isolation from the general cognitive mechanisms involved in frequency learning. Using my empirical data on regularization vs probability matching, I demonstrate how the use of appropriate non-binomial null hypotheses offers us greater precision in determining the strength of selective forces in cultural evolution.

federicorleone@gmail.com
Evolutionary explanations for geography's influence on complex cognitive ability (CCA) imply virtually immutable components of between-nation IQ differences. Their weight vis-à-vis the weight of situational components was evaluated through an analysis of a 194-country data set. Additive effects of absolute latitude (AL) and longitudinal distance from Homo sapiens' cradle (LDC) explain Northeastern Asian higher, Sub-Saharan African lower CCAs. AL exerts cognitive influence directly and through socioeconomic development and evolutionary genetics whereas LDC does through evolutionary genetics; however, this occurs differently in Africa-Near East- Europe and elsewhere. The findings are understood assuming supremacy of contemporary UVB radiation → hormonal and climatic → socioeconomic mediators of the AL–CCA linkage whose effects are moderated by heterogeneous genetic and cultural adaptations to radiation and climate. Geography's cognitive effects are dynamic and public-policy actions may modify them.
Funds for this researchwere provided by the Vicerrectorado de Investigación through the Research Center at Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (USIL), Lima, Peru. We are indebted to Romain Wacziarg for making available to us the Spolaore- Wacziarg tables on genetic distance and Edvard Avilés for comments to an earlier version of the paper. FRL designed the study, drafted the manuscript, performed part of the analyses, and interpreted the findings. ABL performed the path analyses and approved the manuscript. The data set utilized in the research has been positioned at USIL's Repository and can be accessed through the following link: http://repositorio.usil.edu. pe/jspui/handle/123456789/1038.
Revisión por pares

En appliquant des règles apprises, les humains sont capables de résoudre avec précision de nombreux problèmes avec un minimum d'effort cognitif. Pourtant, ce genre de résolution de problèmes basé sur les habitudes peut favoriser un type d'inflexibilité cognitive appelé « set cognitif ». Le set cognitif se produit lorsqu'une stratégie alternative plus efficace est masquée par une solution connue et familière. Dans cette recherche, j’ai testé si le set cognitif diffère entre espèces de primates et entre cultures humaines, en utilisant une tâche LS-DS informatisée non verbale, qui mesure la capacité des sujets à s'écarter d'une stratégie apprise (LS) pour adopter une stratégie directe (DS) plus efficace. Premièrement, j'ai comparé la capacité de babouins, de chimpanzés et d’humains à briser le set cognitif pour constater que seuls les babouins et les chimpanzés utilisaient le raccourci DS quand il devenait disponible. Dans une étude complémentaire, j’ai analysé les mouvements oculaires de sujets humains pour déterminer si la solution DS est soit visuellement négligées, soit vues mais négligées. Les sujets humains ont regardé le raccourci, mais ils ne l'ont pas utilisé jusqu'à ce que leur conceptualisation des contraintes du problème ait été altérée. Enfin, j'ai comparé le set cognitif entre les occidentaux et les Himba semi-nomades du nord de la Namibie. Cette étude a révélé que la susceptibilité au set cognitif variait selon les cultures humaines. Je discute en conclusion les origines des variations stratégiques constatées entre espèces et entre cultures humaines
By applying learned rules, humans are able to accurately solve many problems with minimal cognitive effort; yet, this sort of habit-based problem solving may readily foster a type of cognitive inflexibility termed ‘cognitive set’. Cognitive set occurs when an alternative – even more efficient – strategy is masked by a known, familiar solution. In this research, I explored how cognitive set differs between primate species and across human cultures, using a nonverbal computerized ‘LS-DS’ task, which measures subjects’ ability to depart from a learned strategy (LS) in order to adopt a more efficient, direct strategy (DS or ‘the shortcut’). I compared baboons’, chimpanzees’, and humans’ abilities to break cognitive set and found that all baboon and chimpanzee subjects used the DS shortcut when it became available; yet, humans exhibited a remarkable preference for the LS. Next, in an effort to elucidate how cognitive set occludes alternative strategies, I tracked human participants’ eye movements to identify whether better solutions were a) visually overlooked or b) seen but disregarded. Although human subjects saw the shortcut, they did not use it until their conceptualization of the problem constraints were altered. Lastly, I compared shortcut-use between Westerners and the semi-nomadic Himba of northern Namibia. This study found that susceptibility to cognitive set varied across human cultures and presented further evidence that problem conceptualization, not perceptual processing, influences individuals’ ability to use the alternative. Overall, this research provides a novel comparison of cognitive flexibility within the primate lineage and across human cultures

This article analyzes The Castle of Otranto from a biocultural perspective. Firstly, the theoretical landscape of Gothic horror is explored. This is followed by some suggestions on how evolutionary approaches might add to the conversation about Gothic horror. The last section applies evolutionary and cognitive approaches to The Castle of Otranto in a reading of the novel. Attention is paid to the varied ways in which Gothic horror subverts and undermines evolved strategies for the creation of meaning and understanding. Gothic tropes such as the Gothic tunnel or labyrinth undercut the dynamic and ongoing creation of place that is essential for the human wayfinding species. These tropes lead to people ineffectually attempting to orient themselves within a place. Disorientation is an innately terrifying scenario for a species that relies heavily on information to orient itself in an environment. Confusion, ambiguity, and disorientation work against the adapted advantages that have shaped human evolutionary past and present. Place and evolved place creating techniques are discussed with in the context of the novel.

First systematically discussed by Darwin (1871), theories of a musical precursor to language have seen a revival in recent years, with researchers such as Tecumseh Fitch, Stephen Brown, and Stephen Mithen invigorating the field. The view that language and music have an evolutionary relationship has been discussed in light of recent comparative, musicological, and biological findings. However, little empirical data have been presented to support such theories. This thesis aims to address this oversight, by presenting a novel experimental paradigm, which tests the prediction of a novel hypothesis for the evolution of language from a musical precursor. The aim of this thesis is to encourage discussion and provide a framework for the empirical investigation of music’s role in the evolution of language. As a first step to addressing this relative dearth of empirical research, a hypothesis is outlined which describes a stable system of signalling cognitive ability through the transmission of culturally-learned, complex, music-like sequences. This is not hypothesised to have been semantically meaningful, rather a system which supported the honest transmission of information about the abilities of potential allies. Such a learned sequential precursor (LSP) to language would require both increased cognitive capacity and an investment of time and energy in learning. These requirements ensured the honesty of signalling, and so perceivers of the LSP could use it as a reliable indicator of the cognitive ability of producers. This was a necessary stage in evolution, prior to protolanguage, in which individuals exhibited a complex learned, culturally-transmitted, music-like signalling system. Such a learned sequential precursor may have arisen through a pressure for the reliable indication of cognitive ability, brought about by environmental and social changes with the advent of Homo erectus. These social changes included a new urge to cooperate, and so this precursor is proposed to have emerged and developed through collaborative partner choice. Perceivers of the system used cues within the musical sequences in order to determine the quality of a producer as a collaborative partner. Empirical tests are presented, which support the hypothesised LSP. The first study tested the complexity aspect of the hypothesis, asking participants to rate complex and non-complex pieces of music according to how much they liked the piece, how familiar it sounded, how attractive and intelligent they found the person who created it, and how likely they were to choose to collaborate with this individual. It was found that complexity was preferred under all measures but one, that of familiarity. The second, main, study predicted that a correlation should be found between measures of cognitive ability that are relevant to musical learning (processing speed and intelligence) and measures of musical learning (ability to replicate and recall target pieces, and make creative pieces). This prediction was upheld, supporting the hypothesis that a learned sequential precursor could have acted as an honest signal of cognitive ability. No correlations were found between these abilities and a measure of physical quality, supporting the hypothesis that this system may have undergone social selection. The third study further tested the question of selection and choice, predicting that collaborative partner choice was key to the selection of this learned sequential precursor. Raters were asked to rate the sexual or collaborative ability of performers of pieces of music, based solely on their musical output. This study has yielded interesting tendencies, but no statistical support of the hypothesis that collaborative partner choice was more important than mate choice in this system. Taken together, these empirical studies support the hypothesis of a musical, learned sequential system of signalling cognitive ability. At the moment, the question of the selection of this precursor remains open, with hopes that further studies can address this question. The methodology used here draws together approaches from birdsong research, evolutionary psychology, and musicological research, in an attempt to prompt further interdisciplinary investigation into the role of music in the evolution of language.

A full understanding of any biological trait requires investigation of its evolutionary origin. Primates inspire great curiosity amongst researchers due to the remarkable diversity across species in both anatomical and behavioural traits, including sociality, sexual behaviour, life histories, neuro-anatomy, cognitive abilities and behavioural repertoires. The study of primates has involved comparative approaches since its inception, however, the necessary tools for statistically investigating the macro-evolutionary processes responsible for current diversity in biological traits have been developed only in the last 30 years or so, namely phylogenetic reconstruction and phylogenetic comparative methods. Amongst a multitude of evolutionary questions that can be addressed by phylogenetic comparative analyses, this thesis attempts to address two in particular, concerning primates. First, chapters 3 and 4 use meta-analysis and phylogenetic comparative analyses to investigate the evolution of large, brightly coloured ‘exaggerated sexual swellings' in female Catarrhine (‘Old World') primates. Together, chapters 3 and 4 show that such swellings are signals of temporal fertility, and present evidence to suggest that swellings co-evolved with conditions favouring male mate choice and cryptic female choice, therefore shedding light on the general conditions under which female signals of temporal fertility should evolve. Second, chapters 5 and 6 use phylogenetic comparative analyses investigate the evolution of enlarged brain size in the primate order. Together, chapters 5 and 6 suggest that multiple selection pressures have contributed to diversity in brain size and cognitive traits across primates, including sociality, intra-sexual competition and extended life history. Further, analyses presented in chapter 6 suggest that reliance on learned behaviour is a self-reinforcing evolutionary process, favouring ‘runaway' increases in cognitive abilities and reliance on culture in some primate lineages, which parallels increases in brain size, cognitive ability and reliance on culture in human evolution.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2006.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 26, 2006). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-213).

L'objectif de cette étude est de participer à la recherche d'un fondement théorique cohérent des psychothérapies cognitives et émotionnelles, augmenter leur efficacité dans le traitement des troubles anxio-dépressifs. Dans le but d'étudier l'efficacité de la thérapie centrée sur les schémas, en particulier, les schémas précoces inadaptés, nous avons montré que chez des patients anxio-dépressifs résistants, les composantes anxieuses et dépresives sont liées à l'activation de certains des schémas précoces inadaptés décrits par Young (1995). L'utilisation de sa thérapie axée sur ces schémas diminue fortement et significativement les niveaux d'anxiété de de dépression. Ainsi, l'évolution du trouble anxio-dépressif semble fonction de l'évolution de certains schémas. Il apparaît que certains schémas sont plus liés à la composante anxieuse (4 schémas), et d'autres à la composante dépressive (7 schémas), et d'autres encore aux deux à la fois (3 schémas) ; et des schémas ne sont liés ni à l'une, ni à l'autre (5 schémas)
The objective of this study is to participate in search of a coherent theoretical foundation of cognitive and emotional psychotherapies, to increase their efficiency in the treatment of the anxio-depressive disorders. With the aim of studying the efficiency of the schemas therapy, in particular, early maladaptive schemas, we showed that a resistant anxio-depressive patients, the anxious and depressive components are related to the activation of some of the early maladaptive schemas described by Young (1995). The use of its schemas-focused therapy decreases strongly and significantly the levels of anxiety and depression. So, the evolution of the anxio-depressive disorder seems related to the anxious components (4 schemas), and the others in the depressive component (7 schemas), and the others else in both at the same moment (3 schemas) ; and schemas are related neither to the one, nor to the order one (5 schemas)

Nesta dissertação de mestrado aplicamos métodos de mecânica estatística a dois problemas relacionados à interação e evolução cultural. O primeiro diz respeito à evolução e manutenção da cooperação altruística. Apresent amos a dinâmica Fisher-Wright em dois níveis, desenvolvida em [49], descreve a evolução do comportamento altruísta através de uma estruturada em grupos com migrac;ao e, assim, contorna algumas das limitações de outros mecanismos propostos ao longo do último século. Neste trabalho, aplicamos este mecanismo ao modelo desenvolvido por Boyd, Gintis e Bowles [12], que explica a manutenção da cooperação através da punição altruística, mostrando que o processo Fisher-Wright em dois níveis permite uma abordagem mais robusta e natural, obtendo viabilidade para o altruísmo mesmo com taxas de migração significativas. 0 segundo problema descrito nesta dissertação consiste de um modelo, proposto em [16], para certos resultados quantitativos em suporte à Teoria de Fundamentos Morais obtidos por Jonathan Haidt [32]. Nestre trabalho estudamos a influencia da rede topológica nos resultados deste modelo de agentes, em particular utilizando a rede do Facebook como exemplo de rede realista.
In this dissertation we apply statistical mechanics methods to two problems involving social interaction and cultural evolution. The first problem concerns the evolution and maintenance of altruistic cooperation. We discuss the two level Fisher-Wright mecanism proposed in [49] which deals with the question of evolutionary viability of altruistic behavior in a group structured population with migration, and is capable of circumventing certain limitations of other mecanisms proposed in the last century. We use this framework to analyse Boyd, Gintis and Bowles\' model [12] for the maintenance and proliferation of cooperation through altruistic punishment, showing that the two level Fisher-Wright process allows for a more robust and natural approach, showing altruism to be viable even at significantly high migration rates. The second problem deals with a model for explaining certain quantitative data obtained by Jonathan Haidt [32] in his Moral Foundation Theory. We study the agent based interaction model proposed in [16] in a scenario where the influcence graph consists of the Facebook social network to understand the network\'s influence in the results.

Human culture has been proposed to uniquely exhibit a ‘ratchet effect’, with beneficial modifications being made to cultural traits over many generations. This is widely thought to have allowed an accumulation of technology and knowledge over time, and to be of central importance to the remarkable ecological and demographic success of humans. Whilst many researchers argue that the roots of human culture lie in social learning, a process widespread in nature, the exact cognitive capacities that set humans apart are not known. To provide a comparative assessment of nine separate hypotheses regarding different social and cognitive factors that may underlie a capacity for cumulative culture, in this thesis a cumulative puzzlebox was presented to three species. Groups of capuchins, chimpanzees and children were provided with the opportunity to solve the puzzlebox to three sequential levels to retrieve rewards of increasing desirability. Higher level solutions spread only in the children. Evidence was found for the occurrence of teaching, imitation, complex communication and prosociality in groups of children, but not in groups of capuchins and chimpanzees. Furthermore, these processes were positively correlated with the performance of individuals within the groups of children which was the only species to show evidence of cumulative cultural learning. Five further hypotheses focussed on alternative social and cognitive factors were not supported by the evidence from this experiment.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:25:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-06-24Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:33:06Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 costa_obr_me_mar.pdf: 498825 bytes, checksum: 3ae7c7c5aaf9ff0bb10fcc4e44418866 (MD5)
Considera-se a espécie humana como caracterizada por uma cognição diferenciada, que inclui aprendizado constante, uso de linguagem simbólica e auto-consciência. Que fatores evolutivos teriam engendrado tal fenômeno? Nesse trabalho, são discutidos alguns dados e conjecturas da Neuroantropologia Cognitiva, que sugerem uma configuração de fatores, como a adoção do bipedalismo, uso de instrumentos rudimentares, emergência da linguagem e da cooperação social, na origem do fenômeno da cognição humana. A explicação do processo evolutivo humano aponta no sentido da operação de mecanismos de causalidade circular, pelos quais desenvolvimentos incipientes da técnica, da linguagem e da sociabilidade teriam progressivamente causado novos desenvolvimentos nestas mesmas esferas de atividade humana, conduzindo às formas sofisticadas de tecnologia, comunicação e relacionamento humano que caracterizam o período histórico contemporâneo
The human species displays peculiar cognitive abilities that includes continuous learning capacity, symbolic language and self-consciousness. Which evolutionary factors could have engendered this condition? In this work, we discuss evolutionary facts and conjectures from Cognitive Neuroanthropology, suggesting a configuration of several factors - as the adoption of bipedalism, use of rudimentary tools, the emergence of language and social cooperation - in origin of human cognition. An explanation of the process of human evolution could then be achieved from the operation of a mechanism of circular causality, by which incipient developments of technique, language and sociability would progressively cause more complex developments of the same kinds of activity, leading to the sophisticated forms of technology, communication and human relations found in the contemporary epoch

Recent work in empirical moral psychology has led to at least one point of consensus: intuitive, psychologically-spontaneous cognitive processes play a central and inescapable role in moral evaluation. However, among those who accept that intuitive processes play a central role there remains much debate concerning the underlying character of these intuitive processes, as well as their developmental and evolutionary origins. The two dominant approaches are represented by psychological sentimentalists, who hold that these underlying processes are essentially emotion-driven, and moral nativists, who hold that these processes are subserved by innate, tacitly-held moral principles. In the course of this dissertation I critically examine each of these prominent psychological accounts, and work to outline a novel alternative. Questions concerning the psychological processes involved in moral judgment are interesting in their own right, as well as for their potential relevance to debates in ethical theory. The observed role of intuitive processing in moral judgment challenges those traditions in psychology and philosophy according to which deliberate rational processes do or should dominate. Indeed, it is widely thought that the centrality of these intuitive processes serves to undermine the status of morality and the epistemic standing of moral beliefs. Both the sentimentalist and the nativist analyses of intuitive moral judgment have been used to ground challenges to the status of morality and moral belief. I build on my critiques of the empirical adequacy of the psychological and evolutionary claims grounding these challenges to develop ways to defeat them. When properly understood, neither of these accounts of intuitive moral psychology supports a global challenge to the epistemic standing of moral belief.

Conservatism reflects a general attitude structure characterized by a preference for traditional social practices and an aversion to uncertainty and threat. Though the social environment undoubtedly plays a role in shaping conservative attitudes, recent studies suggest that trait-level characteristics may contribute to their development as well. The present research investigated trait-level cognitive threat detection ability as a factor which may influence the development and maintenance of conservative social attitudes. A computer simulation indicated that socially conservative attitudes may function as a strategy for increasing the survival rate of an individual with poor threat detection ability living in a relatively dangerous environment. Three studies were conducted to further investigate the hypothesis that individuals who are less accurate in detecting threats would report more conservative social attitudes, particularly when the surrounding environment is perceived to be highly dangerous. In Study 1, participants who were less able to distinguish between images of safe and dangerous stimuli presented outside of conscious awareness tended to endorse higher levels of social dominance orientation, and participants who reported higher belief that the world is dangerous tended to endorse higher levels of social dominance orientation and right-wing authoritarianism, as well as a more conservative political ideology. In Study 2, less accurate detection of threats was associated with a more conservative political ideology. In Studies 2 and 3, experimental manipulations of participants’ dangerous world beliefs failed to produce differences in the endorsement of socially conservative attitudes. An additional experimental manipulation of participants’ perceptions of their own ability to detect threats in Study 3 did not affect the endorsement of socially conservative attitudes either. Across the three studies, the results suggest that individual differences in cognitive mechanisms associated with the ability to differentiate between safe and dangerous stimuli presented outside of conscious awareness may hold a weak but significant relation to socially conservative attitudes. Additionally, the results indicate that individuals who hold a stronger belief that the world is a dangerous place tend to endorse more conservative social attitudes; however, these views appear to be pervasive and persist in the face of short term fluctuations in perceptions of danger.

This thesis aims to explore how psycholinguistic factors can play a pivotal role in the way that the human lexicon is structured. Recent approaches to studying language have been heavily influenced by the principle that languages are shaped to suit the general learning and processing biases of the learner (Christiansen & Chater, 2008). This view has gained considerable support from theoretical and empirical accounts from researchers in the fields of language acquisition and evolution. However, there has been little evidence that demonstrates how such learning biases may operate differently at various stages of an individual’s vocabulary development, or indeed how they may operate differently as the vocabulary subsequently evolves. Through a series of experimental studies, this thesis will examine how well documented psycholinguistic properties of words can shape the lexicon throughout the course of a language learner’s life, as well as the life of the language itself. Chapters 2 and 3 investigate how both arbitrariness and non-arbitrariness (in the form of sound-symbolism) make significant contributions to the way that languages are learnt. Central to this point is that important considerations should be made as to when and how these two properties are considered beneficial. Principally, these chapters focus on how the size of the vocabulary directly influences whether arbitrariness or non-arbitrariness is advantageous for the learner. We show that sound-symbolism facilitates learning individual form-meaning mappings when the vocabulary size is small, whereas as the vocabulary grows this advantage is only observed for distinguishing between categories. Which may explain why words acquired earlier in life, when the vocabulary size is small, are reported to be more sound-symbolic (Monaghan et al, 2014).Chapter 4 goes on to examine how variation in psycholinguistic properties of word can be used to directly predict variation in the fidelity of the word’s learning and production. By manipulating the frequency, length and age of acquisition of words learnt within an artificial language learning paradigm, this chapter aims to show how certain words are less vulnerable to change based on the way these properties offer significant processing advantages, whilst also considering the nature of the way errors are produced during recall by distinguishing between lexical adjustment and replacement. Importantly, these properties are investigated independent of one another, allowing for a significant contribution to be made to the way language change is studied. Following on from this, Chapter 5 then considers how these psycholinguistic properties may come to change the lexicon over the course of evolution. By using an iterated learning paradigm, the aim here is to observe how the changes reported in Chapter 4 may explain previously reported differences in the stability, and indeed instability, of lexical forms over a much longer timescale. This approach examines such differences through the cultural transmission of the languages across several generations of learners.

Researchers have identified inadequate sleep duration as one of the factors contributing to global obesity. The purpose of this study was to test a hypothesis deduced from a new sleep-duration-based evolutionary theory claiming that sleep extension in response to lengthening night duration in early fall evolved into a behavioral marker of an approaching winter; this adaptive trait was theorized to produce adiposity gain in White men in response to sleep extension. The hypothesis was that White Americans would show a greater increase in the age-adjusted fat mass index per unit of sleep duration compared to that of Black Americans. Data were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) study between 2005 and 2010. The multiple regression analysis did not support the study hypothesis. The results indicated that habitual sleep duration had no effect on the annual rate of adiposity gain in White men, while in Black men, longer sleep was associated with significantly higher annual rates of adiposity gain. Implications for social change include the case for population-specific antiobesity interventions in Black men, including closer monitoring of sleep duration in order to prevent adverse habitual sleep extension and to improve time budgeting for physical exercise.

Key insights into the evolutionary origins of human social behavior can be gained via study of our closest living relatives, bonobos (Pan paniscus) and chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Despite being equally related to humans, these two species differ importantly in aspects of their morphology, physiology, behavior, and cognition. Morphological comparisons reveal numerous traits in bonobos that can be viewed as paedomorphic, or juvenile, relative to chimpanzees. Meanwhile, comparisons of endocrinology in the two species suggest that aspects of steroid physiology have changed significantly in bonobos in line with their reductions in male mating competition. Based on this evidence, I tested the hypothesis that behavioral and cognitive differences between bonobos and chimpanzees derive from changes in their 1) developmental trajectories of behavioral and cognitive traits and 2) neuroendocrine influences on behavior and cognition. I tested this hypothesis by studying semi free-ranging populations of bonobos and chimpanzees. First, I found that bonobos retained juvenile levels of food sharing and social inhibition into adulthood, leading them to differ from chimpanzees in these traits as adults. Second, I found that bonobos showed muted elevations in their levels of testosterone from infancy to adulthood in comparison to chimpanzees, suggesting that numerous aspects of development differ between these two species. Third, I found that male bonobos and chimpanzees differ in their immediate neuroendocrine shifts surrounding competition, implicating changes in proximate mechanisms influencing social behavior between the two species. Fourth, I found that patterns of cognitive development in these two apes differed significantly from those of human children. These results provide substantial support for my hypothesis that phenotypic differences between bonobos and chimpanzees evolved via shifts in bonobo development and neuroendocrine physiology. More broadly, they illustrate how behavioral and cognitive evolution can occur through changes in ontogenetic trajectories and neuroendocrine mechanisms. These findings thus show the merits of integrating ultimate and proximate levels of analysis in studies of the evolution of human behavior and cognition.
Human Evolutionary Biology

Introduction and Background: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a sporadic, adult-onset, progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized clinically by parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia, and autonomic failure. We investigated cognitive functions longitudinally in a group of probable MSA patients, matching data with sleep parameters. Patients and Methods: 10 patients (7m/3f) underwent a detailed interview, a general and neurological examination, laboratory exams, MRI scans, a cardiovascular reflexes study, a battery of neuropsychological tests, and video-polysomnographic recording (VPSG). Patients were revaluated (T1) a mean of 16±5 (range: 12-28) months after the initial evaluation (T0). At T1, the neuropsychological assessment and VPSG were repeated. Results: The mean patient age was 57.8±6.4 years (range: 47-64) with a mean age at disease onset of 53.2±7.1 years (range: 43-61) and symptoms duration at T0 of 60±48 months (range: 12-144). At T0, 7 patients showed no cognitive deficits while 3 patients showed isolated cognitive deficits. At T1, 1 patient worsened developing multiple cognitive deficits from a normal condition. At T0 and T1, sleep efficiency was reduced, REM latency increased, NREM sleep stages 1-2 slightly increased. Comparisons between T1 and T0 showed a significant worsening in two tests of attention and no significant differences of VPSG parameters. No correlation was found between neuropsychological results and VPSG findings or RBD duration. Discussion and Conclusions: The majority of our patients do not show any cognitive deficits at T0 and T1, while isolated cognitive deficits are present in the remaining patients. Attention is the cognitive function which significantly worsened. Our data confirm the previous findings concerning the prevalence, type and the evolution of cognitive deficits in MSA. Regarding the developing of a condition of dementia, our data did not show a clear-cut diagnosis of dementia. We confirm a mild alteration of sleep structure. RBD duration does not correlate with neuropsychological findings.

Archaeologists have pored over countless texts of the ancient civilizations, attempting to piece together bygone worlds. However, relatively little work has been done to reconstruct the musical history of these societies, and even less on why their musical histories are important. This paper aims at a synthesis between the ancient Egyptian and classical Greek archaeological records to analyze the importance of music in Paleolithic human cognitive development. Countless musical instruments have been discovered globally, ranging from pre-Columbian bone flutes in Oaxaca, Mexico to ancient trumpets in Egyptian burials (Barber et al 2009). Apart from their place in a museum, minimal work has been done to ascertain their importance to human society as a whole. This thesis attempts to display the crucial need for more research in this field. The recent decline in support for arts education in favor of 'hard sciences' and mathematics is deeply disturbing; the history of humanity should be important not only to anthropologists and historians, but to members of all disciplines. This lack of interest in 'soft sciences' and the arts may lead to a complete loss of ancient musical history; a loss that would be devastating to history, anthropology and the worlds. The contents of this paper portray both the ancient importance of music, and how it contributed to increased cognitive faculties during hominid development.
B.A.
Bachelors
Sciences
Anthropology

Le vieillissement s’accompagne de modifications cérébrales dont l’hétérogénéité expliquerait en partie la variabilité inter-individuelle du déclin cognitif. Ces modifications concernent aussi bien les aspects structurels que fonctionnels. L’imagerie cérébrale multimodale a apporté des éléments de compréhension sur la relation structure-fonction, mais reste peu étudiée dans le cadre du vieillissement. Au cours de ce travail, la connectivité fonctionnelle de repos (CF) et structurelle (CS) prélevées dans l’espace natif ont été explorées chez 120 sujets âgés (cohorte 3C) afin d’étudier leur lien avec les trajectoires cognitives modélisées sur les 12 ans de suivi. Dans notre échantillon, les niveaux de CF inter-hémisphérique élevés sont associés avec les altérations globales du parenchyme cérébral (atrophie de la substance grise et charge lésionnelle de la substance blanche) et avec le déclin en mémoire épisodique. Les paramètres de diffusion corrigés de l’eau libre et extraits du faisceau cingulaire reconstruit par tractographie sont associés au déclin en fluence verbale. D’autre part, une CF élevée et une CS basse entre le cortex cingulaire postérieur ventral (vPCC) et le precuneus A7m sont associés avec le déclin en mémoire épisodique, indépendamment du volume hippocampique. Enfin, les sujets âgés présentent un déficit de réorganisation de l’architecture fonctionnelle de repos à court terme après la réalisation d’une tâche d’apprentissage. Ainsi, le vieillissement cérébral s’accompagne de différents types de modifications de CF (augmentation, diminution, déficit de réorganisation à court terme) offrant ainsi au cerveau un répertoire de réponse plus complexe que la CS
Aging is associated with changes in the brain, the heterogeneity of which partly explains the inter-individual variability of cognitive decline. These changes concern both the structural and functional aspects. Multimodal brain imaging has provided some insights into the structure-function relationship, but this has been little studied in the context of aging. In this work, functional rest (CF) and structural (CS) connectivity from native space were explored in 120 elderly subjects (cohort 3C) to study their relationship to cognitive trajectories modeled on the 12 years of follow-up. In our sample, elevated interhemispheric CF levels are associated with global changes in cerebral parenchyma (gray matter atrophy and white matter injury burden) and episodic memory decline. The diffusion parameters corrected for free-water, extracted from the cingulum tract are associated with the decline in verbal fluency. On the other hand, high CF and low CS between posterior ventral cingulate cortex (vPCC) and precuneus A7m are associated with episodic memory decline, regardless of hippocampal volume. Finally, the elderly subjects present a deficit of short-term reorganization of the rest-functional architecture after a learning task. Thus, cerebral aging is associated with different patterns of CF changes (increase, decrease, short-term reorganization deficit) thus providing to the brain a more complex response repertoire than CS

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SEDUC - Secretaria de Estado de Educação de Mato Grosso
Esta dissertação é uma síntese das principais teses defendidas pelo filósofo Daniel Clement Dennett ao longo de sua trajetória intelectual. A finalidade da dissertação é entender a relação entre as diversas teorias de Dennett e tentar interpretá-la como um todo coerente. Os conceitos que fundamentam a teoria do autor serão apresentados de forma sucinta e sequencial, buscando uma linha de ligação entre si. Ao final, argumenta-se que Dennett apresenta uma das mais importantes concepções teóricas para as ciências cognitivas contemporâneas, conectando o processo de surgimento e evolução da vida ao aparecimento da mente.
This paper is a summary of the main arguments put forward by the philosopher Daniel Dennett Clement over his intellectual trajectory. The purpose of the dissertation is to understand the relationship between the various theories of Dennett and try to interpret it as a coherent whole. The concepts underlying the author's theory will be presented in a succinct and sequentially, seeking a connecting line between them. Finally, it is argued that Dennett has one of the most important theoretical concepts for contemporary cognitive science, connecting the process of emergence and evolution of life to the appearance of mind .

Les convencions culturals compartides en una població emergeixen com a conseqüència de la interacció entre la cognició dels individus i l'estructura de la societat. L'espècie humana, més que cap altra en el regne animal, és capaç d'aprendre i transmetre vastes quantitats d'informació mitjançant el llenguatge i altres productes culturals. A més, els humans tenen una extraordinària capacitat per construir nínxols socials que poden ser modelats com a sistemes complexos. Les societats humanes estan organitzades per l'estructura de les xarxes socials i per altres entitats jeràrquiques super-estructurals que constitueixen sistemes integrats de regles que estructuren les interaccions socials (e.g. institucions). En aquesta tesi formalitzaré algunes de les relacions entre aquests factors usant diversos mètodes. En particular, exploraré les següents preguntes d'investigació: (1) Com afecten les interaccions entre els trets cognitius individuals i les dinàmiques temporals de connectivitat d'una xarxa social (i.e. l'ordre en què els individus d'una població interaccionen entre si) a la disseminació de variants culturals? (2) Com afecten les interaccions entre els trets cognitius individuals i les institucions a l'evolució de la diversitat cultural i l'emergència de convencions culturals? (3) Com els models d'aprenentatge iteratiu, la construcció de nínxol i la biologia evolutiva el desenvolupament poden ser sintetitzats en un marc compatible per a l'evolució de l'llenguatge? El cap. 1 conté una revisió literària i una introducció a les assumpcions que sostenen els models de la tesi. Al cap. 2, presento un model d'agents en el qual manipulo dinàmiques específiques de connectivitat, biaixos cognitius i memòria. Els resultats mostren que la connectivitat afecta les dinàmiques de disseminació de variants: una menor connectivitat retarda la convergència en convencions compartides. També mostro que, a l'comparés amb un model evolutiu neutre, un biaix de contingut (i.e. preferència per variants amb alt valor) és la major força produint convergència i amplifica els efectes de la connectivitat. La mida de la memòria i el biaix de coordinació (especialment el biaix egocèntric) retarden la convergència. Al cap. 3, comunico un experiment de laboratori que té dos objectius: primer, avaluar l'efecte de dues dinàmiques de connectivitat (primerenca i tardana) en l'evolució de la convergència de la població en convencions comunicatives; segon, comparar les prediccions de el model d'agents descrit en el cap. 2 amb les dades experimentals, i calibrar el model per trobar el millor ajust de paràmetres. Els resultats mostren que, tal com prediu el model, una connectivitat primerenca augmenta la convergència i una tardana la retarda. Els capítols 4 i 5 exploren la coevolució de sistemes de valors i institucions mitjançant la incorporació, en els algoritmes d'aprenentatge i producció, d'un conjunt de paràmetres que inclou biaixos conformitat (obediència), confirmació, contingut i freqüència. Els resultats mostren que, en general, el poder institucional facilita la formació de convencions culturals quan el conformisme amb els valors institucionals augmenta. En general, aquest conformisme augmenta la diversitat si les institucions són diverses i redueix la diversitat si les institucions transmeten sistemes de valors amb variants altament dominants. En algunes regions, les convencions globals emergeixen en l'absència de poder institucional i per tant d'institucions que guien el procés de convergència. Al cap. 6, ús el concepte de construcció de nínxol per estendre ponts entre explicacions cognitives d'eco-evo-devo i processos d'aprenentatge iteratiu. Proposo a més un model conceptual que pot ser útil com a marc generador d'hipòtesis al voltant de el qual investigadors en cognició puguin estructurar nous models formals de triple herència.
Las convenciones culturales compartidas en una población emergen como consecuencia de la interacción entre la cognición de los individuos y la estructura de la sociedad. La especie humana, más que ninguna otra en el reino animal, es capaz de aprender y transmitir vastas cantidades de información mediante el lenguaje y otros productos culturales. Además, los humanos tienen una extraordinaria capacidad para construir nichos sociales que pueden ser modelados como sistemas complejos. Las sociedades humanas están organizadas por la estructura de las redes sociales y por otras entidades jerárquicas super-estructurales que constituyen sistemas integrados de reglas que estructuran las interacciones sociales (e.g. instituciones). En esta tesis formalizo algunas de las relaciones entre estos factores usando varios métodos. En particular, exploraré las siguientes preguntas de investigación: (1) ¿Cómo afectan las interacciones entre los rasgos cognitivos individuales y las dinámicas temporales de conectividad de una red social (i.e. el orden en que los individuos de una población interaccionan entre sí) a la diseminación de variantes culturales? (2) ¿Cómo afectan las interacciones entre los rasgos cognitivos individuales y las instituciones a la evolución de la diversidad cultural y la emergencia de convenciones culturales? (3) ¿Cómo los modelos de aprendizaje iterativo, la construcción de nicho y la biología evolutiva del desarrollo pueden ser sintetizados en un marco compatible para la evolución del lenguaje? El cap. 1 contiene una revisión literaria y una introducción a las asunciones que sostienen los modelos de la tesis. En el cap. 2, presento un modelo de agentes en el que manipulo dinámicas específicas de conectividad, sesgos cognitivos y memoria. Los resultados muestran que la conectividad afecta las dinámicas de diseminación de variantes: una menor conectividad retrasa la convergencia en convenciones compartidas. También muestro que, al comparase con un modelo evolutivo neutro, un sesgo de contenido (i.e. preferencia por variantes con alto valor) es la mayor fuerza produciendo convergencia y amplifica los efectos de la conectividad. El tamaño de la memoria y el sesgo de coordinación (especialmente el sesgo egocéntrico) retrasan la convergencia. En el cap. 3, comunico un experimento de laboratorio que tiene dos objetivos: primero, evaluar el efecto de dos dinámicas de conectividad (temprana y tardía) en la evolución de la convergencia de la población en convenciones comunicativas; segundo, comparar las predicciones del modelo de agentes descrito en el cap. 2 con los datos experimentales, y calibrar el modelo para encontrar el mejor ajuste de parámetros. Los resultados muestran que, tal y como predice el modelo, una conectividad temprana aumenta la convergencia y una tardía la retrasa. Los capítulos 4 y 5 exploran la coevolución de sistemas de valores e instituciones mediante la incorporación, en los algoritmos de aprendizaje y producción, de un conjunto de parámetros que incluye sesgos conformidad (obediencia), confirmación, contenido y frecuencia. Los resultados muestran que, en general, el poder institucional facilita la formación de convenciones culturales cuando el conformismo con los valores institucionales aumenta. En general, este conformismo aumenta la diversidad si las instituciones son diversas y reduce la diversidad si las instituciones transmiten sistemas de valores con variantes altamente dominantes. En algunas regiones, las convenciones globales emergen en la ausencia de poder institucional y por lo tanto de instituciones que guíen el proceso de convergencia. En el cap. 6, uso el concepto de construcción de nicho para tender puentes entre explicaciones cognitivas de eco-evo-devo y procesos de aprendizaje iterativo. Propongo además un modelo conceptual que puede ser útil como marco generador de hipótesis alrededor del cual investigadores en cognición puedan estructurar nuevos modelos formales de triple herencia.
The emergence of shared cultural conventions in a population is shaped by the interaction between individuals' cognition and the structure of the society. Humans, more than any other species in the animal kingdom, are able to learn and transmit vast amounts of information, through language and other cultural products. Individual cognitive constraints include cognitive biases, value systems and memory among others. Additionally, humans have an extraordinary capacity to construct social niches that can be modelled as complex systems. Societies are shaped by the structure of the social network and other high-level hierarchical entities that constitute integrated systems of rules that structure social interactions (e.g. institutions). In this thesis I formalise some of the relationships between these factors using a variety of approaches. In particular, I explore the following three main research questions: (1) How do the interactions between individual cognitive traits and the temporal dynamics of social network connectivity, i.e the order in which individuals in a population interact with each other, affect the spread of cultural variants? (2) How do the interactions between individual cognitive traits and institutions affect the evolution of cultural diversity and the emergence of cultural conventions? (3) How might current iterated learning models, niche construction and evolutionary developmental biology be synthesised into a compatible framework for language evolution? Ch. 1 contains a review of the literature and an introduction to the assumptions underlying the models presented in this thesis. In Ch. 2, I present an agent-based model manipulating specific network connectivity dynamics, cognitive biases and memory. I show that connectivity dynamics affect the time-course of variant spread, with lower connectivity slowing down convergence of the population onto a single cultural variant. I also show that, compared to a neutral evolutionary model, content bias (i.e. a preference for variants with high value) is the main driver of convergence and amplifies the effects of connectivity dynamics, whilst larger memory size and coordination bias, especially egocentric bias, slow down convergence. In Ch. 3, I report an experiment in the lab which has two main goals: First, to evaluate the effect of two connectivity dynamics (early and late) on the evolution of the convergence of micro-societies on shared communicative conventions under controlled conditions. Second, to compare the predictions of the agent-based model described in Ch. 2 against experimental data, and calibrate the model to find the best-fitting parameter setting. Results show that, as predicted by the model, an early connectivity dynamic increases convergence and a late connectivity dynamic slows down convergence. Expanding on the agent-based model, Chs. 4 and 5 explore the co-evolution of value systems and institutions by incorporating a comprehensive parameter combination of compliance, confirmation, content and frequency biases into the learning and production algorithm. Results show that, in general, institutional power facilitates the emergence of cultural conventions when compliance biases increase. In general, a compliance bias pushes diversity up when institutions are diverse, and pushes diversity down when institutions convey value systems with strong dominance of one or few cultural variants. In some regions of the parameter space, global conventions can also emerge in the absence of institutional power and therefore of institutions that are in place to guide convergence. In Ch. 6, I use the concept of niche construction to build bridges between eco-evo-devo accounts for cognitive capacities and cultural evolution guided by iterated learning processes. I propose a conceptual model that might be useful to act as a hypothesis-generating framework around which cognitive scientists can structure new triple-inheritance formal models.

Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
The purpose of this work is to put forward a theory of the evolution of cognitive specialization and demonstrate its significance towards the future development of human and computer interaction by demonstrating it in a modern context. For millennia, great minds have wrestled to build a typing model to classify the differences in human behavior. Recent theories have driven towards a theory of four functional abilities of the mind coming in two attitudes that drive asymmetrical development resulting in cognitive types, or personalities. Modern digital systems currently have rudimentary models of human cognition, it is this document's belief that by encoding a typing model our systems will begin to understand and act in a manner more similar to human behavior. The theoretical, more human extension of this work is to observe the evolution of a single 'hive consciousness' - a collection of individual minds acting as a single sustaining entity - with the underlying belief that it is the development of an optimal hive structure, not the development of an optimal individual mind, that results in the emergent seemingly specialized cognitive styles. The grounded, implementation based extension of this work is to demonstrate in a simple web-based digital marketing implementation - a system that can drive user actions, monitor those actions as to create an understanding of that particular user's cognitive type, and finally adapt it's contents as to optimally convince the user to consider a purchase decision.
by Harry A. Rein.
M. Eng.

Orientador: Alfredo Pereira Junior
Banca: Jonas Gonçalves Coelho
Banca: Marcelo Carbone
Resumo: Considera-se a espécie humana como caracterizada por uma cognição diferenciada, que inclui aprendizado constante, uso de linguagem simbólica e auto-consciência. Que fatores evolutivos teriam engendrado tal fenômeno? Nesse trabalho, são discutidos alguns dados e conjecturas da Neuroantropologia Cognitiva, que sugerem uma configuração de fatores, como a adoção do bipedalismo, uso de instrumentos rudimentares, emergência da linguagem e da cooperação social, na origem do fenômeno da cognição humana. A explicação do processo evolutivo humano aponta no sentido da operação de mecanismos de causalidade circular, pelos quais desenvolvimentos incipientes da técnica, da linguagem e da sociabilidade teriam progressivamente causado novos desenvolvimentos nestas mesmas esferas de atividade humana, conduzindo às formas sofisticadas de tecnologia, comunicação e relacionamento humano que caracterizam o período histórico contemporâneo
Abstract: The human species displays peculiar cognitive abilities that includes continuous learning capacity, symbolic language and self-consciousness. Which evolutionary factors could have engendered this condition? In this work, we discuss evolutionary facts and conjectures from Cognitive Neuroanthropology, suggesting a configuration of several factors - as the adoption of bipedalism, use of rudimentary tools, the emergence of language and social cooperation - in origin of human cognition. An explanation of the process of human evolution could then be achieved from the operation of a mechanism of circular causality, by which incipient developments of technique, language and sociability would progressively cause more complex developments of the same kinds of activity, leading to the sophisticated forms of technology, communication and human relations found in the contemporary epoch
Mestre

L'objectif de mon projet de recherche était de faire le lien entre structures cérébrales et fonctions, pour mieux comprendre les bases de la cognition. La première partie de ma thèse a été de développer des tests comportementaux pour analyser la cognition et ses fondamentaux. Les résultats suggèrent fortement que les téléostéens possèdent des fonctions exécutives semblables à celles des mammifères. J’ai par la suite cherché le substrat anatomique de ces capacités cognitives nouvellement mises à jour chez cette espèce, notamment dans le pallium (équivalent du cortex cérébral des mammifères). Cependant la neuroanatomie du poisson zèbre adulte est mal connue, car il est souvent utilisé au stade larvaire. Une seconde partie de mon travail a cherché à analyser et identifier l'origine développementale des structures cérébrales adultes. Nous avons découvert que certaines structures considérées jusqu'ici comme faisant partie du cerveau antérieur (prosencéphale) font en fait partie du cerveau médian (mésencéphale) chez le poisson zèbre. L’une de ces structures est le lobe inférieur, précédemment considéré comme hypothalamique. Une autre structure est le noyau préglomérulaire, le noyau sensoriel relais majeur et analogue fonctionnel du thalamus. Cette voie sensorielle contient la principale voie visuelle vers le pallium. Ainsi, même si certaines structures ont la même fonction, elles peuvent avoir une origine évolutive et développementale différente des structures connues chez les mammifères. En résumé, des fonctions similaires ont évolué indépendamment chez les amniotes et les téléostéens. Ce travail élargit ainsi les champs d'application pour la recherche en neurosciences, et permet d'approcher les fondamentaux de la cognition de manière nouvelle par l'identification des structures essentielles à l'émergence d'une cognition de haut niveau telle qu'elle est observée dans l'espèce humaine
The aim of my research project was to link brain structures and functions, to better understand the fundamental bases of cognition. The first part of my thesis consisted in the development of behavioral tests to analyze the essential principles of cognition. The results strongly suggest the existence of executive functions in teleosts similar to those of mammals. Then I looked for the anatomical structures responsible for these cognitive capacities, in particular in the pallium (equivalent of the mammalian cerebral cortex). However, little is known about adult zebrafish neuroanatomy. Indeed, zebrafish is often studied at larval stage. A second part of my work aimed at studying adult structures in more detail through their developmental origin. This has redefined some parts of the brain. We have discovered that some of the structures that were considered as part of the forebrain (prosencephalon) are actually part of the midbrain (mesencephalon) in zebrafish. This includes the inferior lobe, previously classified as hypothalamus. Another structure is the major sensory relay nucleus, the preglomerular nucleus, functional analogue of the thalamus (part of the forebrain) in amniotes. This sensory pathway contains the main visual pathway to the pallium. Thus, even if some structures have the same function, they may have an evolutionary and developmental origin different from structures known in mammals. In summary, similar functions have independently evolved in amniotes and teleosts. This comparative work adds new perspectives for neuroscience research. It also allows us to approach the fundamentals of cognition in a new way: what are the essential building blocks for a higher level of cognition like the human one?

L'objectif général du présent travail était de mettre en évidence l'existence de traitements cognitifs inconscients dans l'amorçage subliminal et d'étudier l'évolution de ces traitements avec l'âge. Pour ce faire, nous avons testé des participants jeunes et âgés en utilisant les techniques d'amorçage subliminal de répétition et d'amorçage subliminal catégoriel en arithmétique et dans le domaine lexical. Nous avons collecté, d'une part, des données comportementales et, d'autre part, des données neurophysiologiques. Les données ont permis de mettre en évidence l'existence de traitements sémantiques insconscients chez les participants jeunes et âgés. Ces traitements insconcients impliquent des mécanismes attentionnels. Enfin, ces traitements inconscients existent au niveau des traits de surface (e. G. Lexical) mais également au niveau des traits plus profonds (e. G. Sémantique). Ce travail de recherche contribue à une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes qui sous-tendent les traitements cognitifs inconscients et du vieillissement cognitif.

付記する学位プログラム名: 霊長類学・ワイルドライフサイエンス・リーディング大学院
Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(理学)
甲第21615号
理博第4522号
新制||理||1649(附属図書館)
京都大学大学院理学研究科生物科学専攻
(主査)准教授 Andrew MacIntosh, 教授 古市 剛史, 教授 髙井 正成
学位規則第4条第1項該当

Premessa e scopo. Il sonno è coinvolto nel mantenimento dell’ integrità anatomica e funzioni cerebrale attraverso meccanismi diversi, tra cui la promozione della plasticità sinaptica, il consolidamento della memoria e l'attività scavenger. Studi epidemiologici suggeriscono che la sindrome delle apnee ostruttive del sonno (OSAS) può aumentare il rischio di deterioramento cognitivo. Una conoscenza più approfondita del legame fisiopatologico tra OSAS e demenza e la dimostrazione che l’OSAS è in grado di influenzare direttamente lo sviluppo di alterazioni cognitive, potrebbe portare ad un miglioramento delle strategie di prevenzione e trattamento. L'obiettivo principale di questo studio è stato quello di valutare la correlazione tra deficit cognitivo e la presenza / gravità dell’OSAS, così come la possibile influenza di fattori vascolari. Soggetti e metodi. Sono stati arruolati 41 soggetti senza demenza affetti da OSAS, diagnosticata con una polisonnografia. Al basale, tutti i soggetti sono stati sottoposti ad uno screening vascolare completo e standardizzato, incluso uno studio della reattività cerebrovascolare mediante il calcolo dell’indice di apnea volontaria (BHI) sulla base della valutazione con Doppler transcranico. E’ stata inoltre eseguita una valutazione neuropsicologica per studiare i principali domini cognitivi. Come controlli, sono sati arruolati e sottoposti allo stesso protocollo di valutazione vascolare e cognitiva soggetti con caratteristiche anagrafiche simili, non affetti da OSAS. Tutti i pazienti con OSAS sono stati sottoposti al miglior protocollo di trattamento in base alle raccomandazioni delle linee guida internazionali e rivalutati dopo 6 mesi. In questo momento, ogni paziente ha ripetuto gli esami polisomnografici, neuropsicologici e ultrasonografici. Risultati. Al basale, le prestazioni cognitive erano più basse nei pazienti rispetto ai controlli nei seguenti compiti: Stroop test T1 e T2 e E1 ed E2 (p = 0,001), test delle parole di Rey per l’apprendimento verbale a breve termine / lungo termine (p = 0,0001 e 0,001, rispettivamente) e test di fluenza semantica e fonetica (p = 0,001). Considerando la reattività cerebrovascolare, una differenza significativa tra pazienti e controlli era presente per il BHI medio (p <0.05). Alla valutazione a 6 mesi, sulla base dei risultati del confronto tra le due valutazioni polisonnografiche, 21 pazienti presentavano un miglioramento della gravità dell’OSAS (gruppo 1) e 20 erano rimasti stabili (gruppo 2). Nel gruppo 1 è stato trovato un miglioramento significativo nel BHI sinistro (p = 0.001) e medio (p = 0.001) e nel test delle parole di Rey per l’apprendimento verbale a breve termine (p = 0.02) e a lungo termine (p = 0,001). Nessun cambiamento nella reattività cerebrovascolare e nel profilo cognitivo è stato rilevato nei pazienti del gruppo. Conclusioni. Il dato più significativo di questo studio riguarda la dimostrazione di una significativa associazione tra OSAS e riduzione dell’efficienza in alcuni compiti cognitivi in pazienti senza una storia di demenza. Il legame tra la riduzione delle prestazioni cognitive e le alterazioni emodinamiche cerebrali suggerisce un possibile ruolo patogenetico di una condizione circolatoria sfavorevole nel sostenere la disfunzione cerebrale nell’OSAS. La possibilità di migliorare le alterazioni vascolari e cognitive con trattamenti specifici merita una attenta considerazione per una strategia terapeutica completa e tempestiva nei pazienti con OSAS al fine di ridurre il rischio di sviluppo di un deterioramento cognitivo.
ABSTRACT Background. Sleep is involved in maintaining cerebral anatomic integrity and functions through different mechanisms including promotion of synaptic plasticity, memory consolidation and scavenger activity. Epidemiological studies suggest that obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) may increase the risk of cognitive impairment. A deeper knowledge of the pathophysiological link between OSAS and dementia and the demonstration that OSAS may directly influence the development of cognitive alterations, would improve prevention and treatment strategies. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between cognitive impairment and presence/severity of OSAS, as well as the possible influence of vascular factors. Subjects and methods. Forty-one non demented subjects with OSAS, diagnosed with an all-night polysomnography were enrolled. At baseline, all subjects underwent a complete and standardized vascular screening including a study of cerebrovascular reactivity by means of the breath-holding index (BHI) calculation based on transcranial Doppler evaluation. A neuropsychological evaluation to study main cognitive domains was also performed. As controls, an age- and sex-matched group of subjects without OSAS were enrolled and submitted to the same protocol of vascular and cognitive assessment. All OSAS patients were submitted to the best treatment protocol according with International specific guidelines and re-evaluated after 6 months. At this time, each patient repeated polisomnographic, neuropsychologic and transcranial Doppler assessment. Results. At baseline, the cognitive performances were lower in patients with respect to controls in the following tasks: Stroop Test T1 and T2 and E1 and E2 (p=0.001), Rey auditory verbal learning test (AVLT) short-term/long-term (p=0.0001 and 0.001, respectively) and semantic and phonetic fluency test (p=0.001). Considering cerebrovascular reactivity, a significant difference between patients and controls was present in mean BHI (p<0.05). At the 6-month evaluation, based on the results of the comparison between the polisomnographic evaluations, 21 patients had an improvement of OSAS severity (group 1) and 20 remained stable (group 2). In group 1 patients, a significant improvement was found in left and mean BHI (p=0.001) and in short-term (p=0.02) and long-term Rey AVLT (p=0.001) No change in cerebrovascular reactivity and cognitive profile was detected in group 2 patients. Conclusions. The main finding of the present study was the demonstration of a significant association between OSAS and reduced efficiency in some cognitive tasks in patients without a history of dementia. The link between reduced cognitive performances and alteration in cerebral hemodynamics suggests a possible pathogenic role of unfavorable circulatory changes in sustaining the cerebral dysfunction in OSAS. The possibility to improve vascular and cognitive alterations with specific treatments deserves full consideration for a comprehensive and timely therapeutic strategy in OSAS patients in order to reduce the risk of cognitive impairment.

Em Metaphors we live by, Lakoff e Johnson apresentam uma nova perspectiva de metáfora. Esta não é apenas um recurso lingüístico, mas estrutura conceitual determinada culturalmente. Nosso pensamento está estruturado com base em metáforas conceituais que nos possibilitam compreender um tipo de coisa em termos de outra; noções abstratas por meio da nossa experiência física. Com base nesta perspectiva de metáfora, analisamos quatro raízes hebraicas, ??? (rdl), ??? (tsv\"), ??? (yrd) e ??? (\"lh), dando ênfase às suas formas verbais, cujos sentidos passam de uma experiência concreta para outras mais abstratas. Nosso objetivo é demonstrar em que medida metáforas orientacionais e ontológicas contribuem para a ampliação lexical por ampliação semântica de uma palavra em hebraico. Para tanto, fizemos uma análise dos sentidos das raízes selecionadas, acompanhando parte de sua evolução semântica. Partimos de exemplos do texto bíblico, principal referência da língua hebraica, e contrastamos com exemplos de textos jornalísticos modernos disponíveis no site do jornal israelense Ha\'arets.
In Metaphors we live by, Lakoff and Johnson present a new perspective on metaphors. Metaphor is not merely viewed as a linguistic resource, but as a conceptual cultural structure culturally determined. Thinking is structured through conceptual metaphors which enable the comprehension of a certain thing in terms another; abstract notions through physical experience. Based on this view of metaphor, we analyzed four hebrew roots: ??? (rdl), ??? (tsv\"), ??? (yrd) and ??? (\"lh), emphasizing their verbal forms, whose meanings change from concrete experience to abstract ones. Our aim is show to which extent orientational and ontological metaphors contribute to lexical expansion through semantic expansion of a word, in hebrew. With this objective, we analyzed the meanings of roots selected, observing part of their semantic evolution. We started from examples from biblical text, the main reference of the Hebrew language, and contrasted them with modern journalistic texts available on the website of Israeli newspaper Ha\'arets

Thesis (DPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this dissertation I enquire into the status, scope and limits of human knowledge, given the fact that our perceptual and cognitive faculties are the product of evolution by natural selection. I argue that the commonsense representations these faculties provide us with yield a particular, species-specific scope on the world that does not ‘correspond’ in any straightforward way to the external world. We are, however, not bound by these commonsense representations. This particular, species-specific view of the world can be transgressed. Nevertheless, our transgressing representations remain confined to the conceptual space defined by the combinatorial possibilities of the various representational tools we possess. Furthermore, the way in which we fit representations to the external world is by means of our biologically determined epistemic orientation. Based on the fact that we are endowed with a particular set of perceptual and cognitive resources and are guided by a particular epistemic orientation, I conclude that we have a particular cognitive relation to the world. Therefore, an accurate representation for us is a particular fit (our epistemic orientation) with particular means (our perceptual and cognitive resources).
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis handel oor die aard, omvang en limiete van kennis, gegewe dat ons perseptuele en kognitiewe vermoëns die resultaat van evolusie deur middel van natuurlike seleksie is. Eerstens, word daar geargumenteer dat die algemene voorstellings wat hierdie vermoëns aan ons bied ‘n partikuliere, spesie-spesifieke siening van die wêreld aan ons gee, wat nie op ‘n eenvoudige manier korrespondeer aan die werklikheid nie. Ons is egter nie gebonde aan hierdie voorstellings nie. Hierdie partikuliere, spesie-spesifieke siening van die wêreld kan oorskry word. Ons is egter wel beperk tot die konseptuele ruimte wat gedefinieër word deur die kombinatoriese moontlikhede van die voorstellingsmiddele tot ons beskikking. Verder word die manier waarop ons hierdie voorstellings aan die wêreld laat pas deur ons biologies gedetermineerde epistemiese oriëntasie bepaal. Dus, gegewe dat ons ‘n spesifieke stel perseptuele en kognitiewe vermoëns het en deur ‘n spesifieke kognitiewe epistemiese oriëntasie gelei word, staan ons in ‘n spesifieke kognitiewe verhouding tot die wêreld. ‘n Akkurate voorstelling (m.a.w. kennis vir ons) is om spesifieke vermoëns (perseptuele en kognitiewe vermoëns) op ‘n spesifieke manier (epsitemiese oriëntasie) aan die wêreld te laat pas.

Comparative and evolutionary cognitive scientists disagree on whether human and nonhuman primate cognition is driven by a general intelligence or more specific, modular mechanisms. Comparative research with chimpanzees is extensive and provides the opportunity to better understand the evolution of human cognition. Little research has been dedicated to individual differences in chimpanzee social and physical cognition. The study of individual differences can be informative in better understanding the generality of primate intelligence. Results supporting a correlation between performances in the social and physical domains would suggest that a domain-general inference system may be responsible. If no relationship is revealed between performances then more compartmentalized, modular mechanisms may be responsible. As a preliminary investigation, I administered four studies focusing on social and physical cognition to a large number of captive chimpanzees. Performance on two tool-using tasks served as indicators of physical intelligence. I administered two social investigations regarding individual variation in social responsiveness and sociability. I did not find a correlation between the social and physical investigations; however strong individual differences in performances were observed. Demographic factors sometimes played a role in the results presented here (e.g. dominance rank and age). While this research does not demonstrate a relationship between sociability and physical intelligence, additional social measures should be utilized in order to measure social cognitive ability in chimpanzees. Focusing on individual differences with a battery of social and physical tasks will be informative regarding the structure of primate intelligence and the underlying cognitive mechanisms that are responsible.

Les évaluations faciales sont un élément central des comportements sociaux, influençant un large spectre de décisions, allant du choix du romantique au choix politique, mais sont également le sujet de grandes variations individuelles. Dans cette thèse, je propose que l'analyse des différences individuelles dans l'utilisation de différents signaux sociaux, notamment ceux de coopération et de pouvoir, lors des évaluations faciales est un outil prometteur pour l'étude des comportements sociaux ; j'applique cette approche de deux façons. Dans un premier temps, pour examiner l'hypothèse selon laquelle la motivation sociale correspond à une adaptation aux environnements coopératifs. À travers six études, je montre que la motivation sociale est associée à une plus grande importance donnée aux signaux de coopération, confirmant ainsi une prédiction centrale de cette théorie. Dans un second temps, j'étudie les mécanismes cognitifs impliqués dans les choix politiques, en examinant leurs réponses à différents signaux de l'environnement. Dans un premier travail expérimental, je montre que l'expérience précoce de la précarité est associée à une préférence pour les hommes forts. À partir de ces résultats, je développe une théorie originale sur les préférences politiques selon laquelle les choix politiques sont orientés vers les individus perçus comme les plus aptes à réussir en tant qu'individus et non en tant que chefs de groupe. En résumé, tout au long de cette thèse, je présente un nouveau cadre de travail pour l'étude des décisions sociales et je montre comment il permet éclairer les mécanismes cognitifs sous-tendant les comportements sociaux ainsi que leurs bases évolutives
Face evaluations are a crucial component of social behavior, influencing a large range of social decisions from mating to political vote. Face evaluations are also susceptible to substantial individual differences. In this thesis, I propose that individual differences in face evaluations constitute a promising tool to investigate social behavior through the analysis of variations in the weight granted to different social signals, and notably cooperation- and power-related cues. I apply this approach in two ways. First, I examine the hypothesis that social motivation can be construed as an adaptation to highly cooperative environments. Across six studies, I confirm a central prediction of this theory, by revealing that highly socially motivated individuals grant a higher importance to cooperation-related signals. Second, I investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying political choices by examining their responses to different environmental signals. In a study on leader preferences in children and in adults, I show that early exposure to environmental harshness is associated with a preference for stronger leaders. Building on these results, I then develop an original theory on political choices stating that leader preferences are biased towards the candidates perceived as the most competent for succeeding in the current context, independently of their leadership abilities. To summarize, my thesis puts forward a new framework to investigate social decisions based on individual variations in face evaluations and sheds light on the cognitive processes underlying social behavior as well as their evolutionary bases

This thesis explores cognitive mechanisms that process models of complex systems – represented in their implicit form – in order to produce explicit redescriptions, which reveal knowledge about these models that is not accessible on the implicit level. The aim of this exploration is to support new ways of conceptualising the phenomenon of emergence, the main characterising feature of complex systems in general. The main problem tackled in this thesis concerns the development of representations that support new forms of model conceptualisation. Specifically, the thesis focuses on producing primordial explicit representations (where primordial means that they are not the composition of lower level explicit forms) directly from the implicit levels of knowledge, with the latter being represented in terms of Cellular Automata (CA) rules. Three hypotheses concerning the capabilities of CA redescription mechanisms are tested. The hypotheses state that such mechanisms are able (1) to capture the whole (or most significant) extent of the input implicit representation, (2) to produce redescriptions that are more compact (in terms of dimensionality) than the input representation and (3) to allow (or to provide substrate to allow) the derivation of “knowledge” about what has been learnt – the knowledge that is implicit in the low level representational forms acquired through learning. The hypotheses are tested by means of Aitana – a prototype developed specifically for this purpose. This developmental cognitive artifact is capable of learning implicit models of Cellular Automata that achieve certain pre-specified emergent behaviours, using Genetic Algorithms as its learning mechanism. Once acquired, implicit representations are processed, in order to produce explicit representations. The mechanisms for redescribing CA rules are based on the study of their endogenous spatial properties. In particular, two redescription transducers or modules are implemented in Aitana and explored through a set of case-studies. Aitana’s artificial cognitive development confirms the three hypotheses of this thesis.

This paper presents a meta-analysis of dream theory within psychology and neuroscience. The questions it attempts to answer are: what is the neuroscientific basis of dreaming? Why do dreams exist (do they have an adaptive function)? Could dreams possibly have no function? And, what is the best way to interpret a dream? The current analysis presents various theories relevant to each of these questions and compares their viability. It also briefly examines the origins of psychological thought on dreams and, towards the end, outlines the steps and empirical support for a well-regarded method of dream interpretation known as the cognitive experiential model. In the end, the analysis finds that a major likely cause of dreaming is the occurrence of different memory processes during REM sleep, whose activity likely also contributes to dream content. As for adaptive functions, the existing neuroscientific evidence suggests that we are almost certainly capable of learning during dreams and that learning may therefore be one of dreams’ primary adaptive functions. However, due to the scarcity of research on dreams, few of these conclusions can be drawn with overwhelming confidence. Lastly, in regards to dream interpretation, the cognitive experiential model seems to provides a framework for dream interpretation which clients and therapists alike find satisfying and useful.

This dissertation explores some applications of statistical mechanics and information theory tools to topics of interest in anthropology, social sciences, and economics. We intended to develop mathematical and computational models with empirical and theoretical bases aiming to identify important features of two problems: the transitions between egalitarian and hierarchical societies and the emergence of money in human societies. Anthropological data suggest the existence of a correlation between the relative neocortex size and the average size of primates\' groups, most of which are hierarchical. Recent theories also suggest that social and evolutionary pressures are responsible for modications in the cognitive capacity of the individuals, what might have made possible the emergence of different types of social organization. Based on those observations, we studied a mathematical model that incorporates the hypothesis of cognitive costs, attributed for each cognitive social representation, to explain the variety of social structures in which humans may organize themselves. A Monte Carlo dynamics allows for the plotting of a phase diagram containing hierarchical, egalitarian, and intermediary regions. There are roughly three parameters responsible for that behavior: the cognitive capacity, the number of agents in the society, and the social and environmental pressure. The model also introduces a modication in the dynamics to account for a parameter representing the information exchange rate, which induces the correlations amongst the cognitive representations. Those correlations ultimately lead to the phase transition to a hierarchical society. Our results qualitatively agree with anthropological data if the variables are interpreted as their social equivalents. The other model developed during this work tries to give insights into the problem of emergence of a unique medium of exchange, also called money. Predominant economical theories, describe the emergence of money as the result of barter economies evolution. However, criticism recently shed light on the lack of historical and anthropological evidence to corroborate the barter hypothesis, thus bringing out doubts about the mechanisms leading to money emergence and questions regarding the inuence of the social configuration. Recent studies also suggest that money may be perceived by individuals as a perceptual drug and new money theories have been developed aiming to explain the monetization of societies. By developing a computational model based on the previous dynamics for hierarchy emergence, we sought to simulate those phenomena using cognitive representations of economic networks containing information about the exchangeability of any two commodities. Similar mathematical frameworks have been used before, but no discussion about the effects of the social network configuration was presented. The model developed in this dissertation is capable of employing the concept of cognitive representations and of assigning them costs as part of the dynamics. The new dynamics is capable of analyzing how the information exchange depends on the social structure. Our results show that centralized networks, such as star or scale-free structures, yield a higher probability of money emergence. The two models suggest, when observe together, that phase transitions in social organization might be essential factors for the money emergency phenomena, and thus cannot be ignored in future social and economical modeling.
Nesta dissertação, utilizamos ferramentas de mecânica estatística e de teoria de informação para aplicações em tópicos significativos ás areas de antropologia, ciências sociais e economia. Buscamos desenvolver modelos matemáticos e computacionais com bases empíricas e teóricas para identificar pontos importantes nas questões referentes à transição entre sociedades igualitárias e hierárquicas e à emergência de dinheiro em sociedades humanas. Dados antropológicos sugerem que há correlação entre o tamanho relativo do neocórtex e o tamanho médio de grupos de primatas, predominantemente hierárquicos, enquanto teorias recentes sugerem que pressões sociais e evolutivas alteraram a capacidade cognitiva dos indivíduos, possibilitando sua organização social em outras configurações. Com base nestas observações, desenvolvemos um modelo matemático capaz de incorporar hipóteses de custos cognitivos de representações sociais para explicar a variação de estruturas sociais encontradas em sociedades humanas. Uma dinâmica de Monte Carlo permite a construção de um diagrama de fase, no qual é possivel identificar regiões hierárquicas, igualitárias e intermediárias. Os parâmetros responsáveis pelas transições são a capacidade cognitiva, o número de agentes na sociedade e a pressão social e ecológica. O modelo também permitiu uma modificação da dinâmica, de modo a incluir um parâmetro representando a taxa de troca de informação entre os agentes, o que possibilita a introdução de correlações entre as representações cognitivas, sugerindo assim o aparecimento de assimetrias sociais, que, por fim, resultam em hierarquia. Os resultados obtidos concordam qualitativamente com dados antropológicos, quando as variáveis são interpretadas de acordo com seus equivalentes sociais. O outro modelo desenvolvido neste trabalho diz respeito ao aparecimento de uma mercadoria única de troca, ou dinheiro. Teorias econômicas predominantes descrevem o aparecimento do dinheiro como resultado de uma evolução de economias de escambo (barter). Críticas, entretanto, alertam para a falta de evidências históricas e antropológicas que corroborem esta hipótese, gerando dúvidas sobre os mecanismos que levaram ao advento do dinheiro e a influência da configuração social neste processo. Estudos recentes sugerem que o dinheiro pode se comportar como uma droga perceptual, o que tem levado a novas teorias que objetivam explicar a monetarização de sociedades. Através de um modelo computacional baseado na dinâmica anterior de emergência de hierarquia, buscamos simular este fenômeno através de representações cognitivas de redes econômicas, que representam o reconhecimento ou não da possibilidade de troca entre duas commodities. Formalismos semelhantes já foram utilizados anteriormente, porém sem discutir a influência da configuração social nos resultados. O modelo desenvolvido nesta dissertação foi capaz de empregar o conceito de representações cognitivas e novamente atribuir custos a elas. A nova dinâmica resultante é capaz de analisar como a troca de informações depende da configuração social dos agentes. Os resultados mostram que redes hierárquicas, como estrela e redes livres de escala, induzem uma maior probabilidade de emergência de dinheiro dos que as demais. Os dois modelos sugerem, quando considerados em conjunto, que transições de fase na organização social são importantes para o estudo de emergência de dinheiro, e portanto não podem ser ignoradas em futuras modelagens sociais e econômicas.

This study investigated selective pressures associated with encephalization in mammals and discussed broader implications. Relative brain size as measured by EQ (Encephalization Quotient) was compared between ecological categories. Omnivores had higher average EQ than ecological specialists. Since specialists are disproportionately affected by extinction events, selection for ecological generalism is proposed as encephalization mechanism. This mechanism may reinforce the more widely known Cognitive Buffer Hypothesis (CBH)—the idea that possessing relatively large brains has buffered lineages against environmental change. CBH is tested here by comparing EQs in Procyon lotor (raccoon) in urban and rural environments. CBH predicts that raccoons in the most radically altered environment, the city, experience the strongest selection for encephalization. Urban raccoons studied here exhibit a higher EQ. Although results are preliminary, data suggest that encephalization is accelerated during abrupt periods of environmental change. Finally, implications for the evolution of biological complexity more generally are discussed.