Journal ArticleDOI
Coevolution of neocortical size, group size and language in humans
TLDR
It is suggested that the evolution of large groups in the human lineage depended on developing a more efficient method for time-sharing the processes of social bonding and that language uniquely fulfills this requirement.Abstract:
Group size is a function of relative neocortical volume in nonhuman primates. Extrapolation from this regression equation yields a predicted group size for modern humans very similar to that of certain hunter-gatherer and traditional horticulturalist societies. Groups of similar size are also found in other large-scale forms of contemporary and historical society. Among primates, the cohesion of groups is maintained by social grooming; the time devoted to social grooming is linearly related to group size among the Old World monkeys and apes. To maintain the stability of the large groups characteristic of humans by grooming alone would place intolerable demands on time budgets. It is suggested that (1) the evolution of large groups in the human lineage depended on the development of a more efficient method for time-sharing the processes of social bonding and that (2) language uniquely fulfills this requirement. Data on the size of conversational and other small interacting groups of humans are in line with the predictions for the relative efficiency of conversation compared to grooming as a bonding process. Analysis of a sample of human conversations shows that about 60% of time is spent gossiping about relationships and personal experiences. It is suggested that language evolved to allow individuals to learn about the behavioural characteristics of other group members more rapidly than is possible by direct observation alone.read more
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Dementia prevention, intervention, and care
Gill Livingston,Gill Livingston,Andrew Sommerlad,Vasiliki Orgeta,Sergi G. Costafreda,Sergi G. Costafreda,Jonathan Huntley,Jonathan Huntley,David Ames,Clive Ballard,Sube Banerjee,Alistair Burns,Jiska Cohen-Mansfield,Claudia Cooper,Claudia Cooper,Nick C. Fox,Laura N. Gitlin,Robert Howard,Robert Howard,Helen C. Kales,Eric B. Larson,Eric B. Larson,Karen Ritchie,Karen Ritchie,Kenneth Rockwood,Elizabeth L Sampson,Quincy M. Samus,Lon S. Schneider,Geir Selbæk,Geir Selbæk,Linda Teri,Naaheed Mukadam +31 more
TL;DR: The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention, Intervention, and Care met to consolidate the huge strides that have been made and the emerging knowledge as to what the authors should do to prevent and manage dementia.
Journal ArticleDOI
The structure and dynamics of multilayer networks
Stefano Boccaletti,Ginestra Bianconi,Regino Criado,Regino Criado,C.I. del Genio,Jesús Gómez-Gardeñes,Miguel Romance,Miguel Romance,Irene Sendiña-Nadal,Irene Sendiña-Nadal,Zhen Wang,Massimiliano Zanin +11 more
TL;DR: This work offers a comprehensive review on both structural and dynamical organization of graphs made of diverse relationships (layers) between its constituents, and cover several relevant issues, from a full redefinition of the basic structural measures, to understanding how the multilayer nature of the network affects processes and dynamics.
Journal ArticleDOI
The social brain hypothesis
TL;DR: Conventional wisdom over the past 160 years in the cognitive and neurosciences has assumed that brains evolved to process factual information about the world, and attention has therefore been focused on such features as pattern recognition, color vision, and speech perception.
Journal ArticleDOI
The common neural basis of autobiographical memory, prospection, navigation, theory of mind, and the default mode: A quantitative meta-analysis
TL;DR: In this paper, a core brain network has been proposed to underlie a number of different processes, including remembering, prospection, navigation, and theory of mind, which has been argued to represent self-projection.
For Review Only The common neural basis of autobiographical memory, prospection, navigation, theory of mind and the default mode: a quantitative meta- analysis
TL;DR: Autobiographical memory, prospection, theory of mind, and default mode demonstrated further reliable involvement of the medial prefrontal cortex and lateral temporal cortices, and this study revealed that the core network extends to lateral prefrontal and occipital cortices.
References
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Culture and the evolutionary process
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