CARTA - Anthropogeny (Video)

What constitutes the essential behavior of our species is contentious. Evolutionary scenarios leading to both the capacity for and practice of these essential behaviors are even more debated. Genetics, cognitive and evolutionary psychology, morphology, reconstructions of climate variation, and the archaeology of human behavior all provide pathways to explore these questions. This presentation by Alison Brooks, George Washington University, will review the evidence for the accumulation of distinctive human behaviors in a comparative framework. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24107]

Leslie Aiello (Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research) reviews the historical development of ideas in relation to the evolution of bipediality. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 23670]

The fastest humans sprint slowly and for very limited durations compared to most quadrupedal mammals, but even average humans have superlative long distance running capabilities in terms of speed and distance compared to other mammals, especially in the heat. Dan Lieberman (Harvard University) posits that these abilities raise the question of how to evaluate when and how adaptations for running evolved in hominins, and what effect such selection had on the evolution of the human body. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 23669]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Bernard Crespi (Simon Fraser University) describes a simple model, based in evolutionary biology, neurodevelopment, and genetics, for understanding how the primary features of autism are related to the major neuroanatomical and cognitive traits that are highly-developed or unique to the human lineage. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 24824]