CARTA - Anthropogeny (Audio)

Tracing the evolution of the human diet from our earliest ancestors can lead to a better understanding of human adaptation in the past. It may also offer clues to the origin of many health problems we currently face, such as obesity and chronic disease. This fascinating series of talks focuses on the changing diets of our ancestors and what role these dietary transitions played in the evolution of humans. Here Mary C. Stiner (Univ of Arizona) discusses Archaic Human Diets followed by Alyssa Crittenden (Univ of Nevada, Las Vegas) on Current Hunter-Gatherer Diets and Steven Leigh (Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) on Diets and Microbes in Primates. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 24806]

Tracing the evolution of the human diet from our earliest ancestors can lead to a better understanding of human adaptation in the past. It may also offer clues to the origin of many health problems we currently face, such as obesity and chronic disease. This fascinating series of talks focuses on the changing diets of our ancestors and what role these dietary transitions played in the evolution of humans. Here Steven Leigh (Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) discusses Diets and Microbes in Primates, followed by Peter Ungar (Univ of Arkansas) on Australopith Diets, and Alison S. Brooks (George Washington Univ) and Margaret J. Schoeninger (UC San Diego) on Neanderthal Diets. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 23436]

Autism affects males much more often than females. The explanation for this must either lie in diagnostic practice, hormones, genetics, or (most likely) a mix of all three factors. In this talk, Simon Baron-Cohen (Univ of Cambridge) summarizes 5 lines of investigation from his lab that suggest baby's sex steroid hormones are a key part of the puzzle of autism. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24825]

V.S. Ramachandran (UC San Diego) explains how his interest in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) stems from an earlier, and broader, interest in mirror neurons and their dysfunction (and restitution of function) in neurology. He begins with a brief survey of the mirror neuron system (MNS) and then makes specific predictions of what to expect from their dysfunction in neurological populations with stroke or phantom limbs, as well as neurotypical populations who overlap with ASD. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24826]

Daniel Geschwind (UCLA) and his colleagues have been working to identify autism risk genes and understand how these might lead to autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Many genes with distinct functions have been identified as ASD susceptibility genes. In this lecture, he indicates how systems biology approaches demonstrate that pathways necessary for normal brain development and function are altered in ASD. Identification of these pathways is the first step toward developing treatments of ASD. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24823]

In this presentation, Jonathan Sebat (UC San Diego) points out that the biggest known risk factors for autism are genes. However, the mutations that have been firmly implicated in autism are unlike the genetic variants that explain common late-onset diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Most of the genes or genomic regions that are known to contribute to autism are “mutation hotspots”. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24818]

Although the neurobiology of autism has been studied for more than two decades, the majority of studies have examined brain anatomy 10 or more years after the onset of clinical symptoms. The early neural defects that cause autism remain unknown, but their signature is likely to be most evident during the first years of life when clinical symptoms are emerging. In this lecture, Eric Courchesne (UC San Diego) highlights several new findings about the neural and genomic abnormalities in autism at young ages. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24819]

Andrew Meltzoff (Univ of Washington) describes new research on the origins of ‘social cognition’ -- the mechanisms by which infants come to understand other people and interpret their actions and intentions before language -- and its implications for understanding children with autism spectrum disorders. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24820]

This lecture demonstrates how early screening at the 1st birthday can positively impact the search for biomarkers and lead to new discoveries regarding the study and treatment of autism. Karen Pierce (UC San Diego) emphasizes patterns of eye gaze as a potent early marker of autism and considers how fMRI can be used to examine neural functional organization in response to language in ASD toddlers. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24821]

In this talk, Mirella Dapretto (UCLA) begins by describing the relevance of mirror neurons for social functioning. She then discusses the empirical evidence suggesting that the so-called ‘mirror neuron system’ may be hyporesponsive in autism. Dapretto concludes by highlighting critical questions for future research in these areas. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24822]