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Gunbin KV, Afonnikov DA, Kolchanov NA, Derevianko AP, Rogaev EI. The evolution of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis miRNA targeting genes in the prenatal and postnatal brain. BMC Genomics 2015; 16 Suppl 13:S4. [PMID: 26693966 PMCID: PMC4686780 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-16-s13-s4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As the evolution of miRNA genes has been found to be one of the important factors in formation of the modern type of man, we performed a comparative analysis of the evolution of miRNA genes in two archaic hominines, Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens denisova, and elucidated the expression of their target mRNAs in bain. RESULTS A comparative analysis of the genomes of primates, including species in the genus Homo, identified a group of miRNA genes having fixed substitutions with important implications for the evolution of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens denisova. The mRNAs targeted by miRNAs with mutations specific for Homo sapiens denisova exhibited enhanced expression during postnatal brain development in modern humans. By contrast, the expression of mRNAs targeted by miRNAs bearing variations specific for Homo sapiens neanderthalensis was shown to be enhanced in prenatal brain development. CONCLUSIONS Our results highlight the importance of changes in miRNA gene sequences in the course of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis evolution. The genetic alterations of miRNAs regulating the spatiotemporal expression of multiple genes in the prenatal and postnatal brain may contribute to the progressive evolution of brain function, which is consistent with the observations of fine technical and typological properties of tools and decorative items reported from archaeological Denisovan sites. The data also suggest that differential spatial-temporal regulation of gene products promoted by the subspecies-specific mutations in the miRNA genes might have occurred in the brains of Homo sapiens denisova and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, potentially contributing to the cultural differences between these two archaic hominines.
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Abstract
Neural oscillations at distinct frequencies are increasingly being related to a number of basic and higher cognitive faculties. Oscillations enable the construction of coherently organized neuronal assemblies through establishing transitory temporal correlations. By exploring the elementary operations of the language faculty—labeling, concatenation, cyclic transfer—alongside neural dynamics, a new model of linguistic computation is proposed. It is argued that the universality of language, and the true biological source of Universal Grammar, is not to be found purely in the genome as has long been suggested, but more specifically within the extraordinarily preserved nature of mammalian brain rhythms employed in the computation of linguistic structures. Computational-representational theories are used as a guide in investigating the neurobiological foundations of the human “cognome”—the set of computations performed by the nervous system—and new directions are suggested for how the dynamics of the brain (the “dynome”) operate and execute linguistic operations. The extent to which brain rhythms are the suitable neuronal processes which can capture the computational properties of the human language faculty is considered against a backdrop of existing cartographic research into the localization of linguistic interpretation. Particular focus is placed on labeling, the operation elsewhere argued to be species-specific. A Basic Label model of the human cognome-dynome is proposed, leading to clear, causally-addressable empirical predictions, to be investigated by a suggested research program, Dynamic Cognomics. In addition, a distinction between minimal and maximal degrees of explanation is introduced to differentiate between the depth of analysis provided by cartographic, rhythmic, neurochemical, and other approaches to computation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elliot Murphy
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London London, UK
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53
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Reboul AC. Why language really is not a communication system: a cognitive view of language evolution. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1434. [PMID: 26441802 PMCID: PMC4585073 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2015] [Accepted: 09/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
While most evolutionary scenarios for language see it as a communication system with consequences on the language-ready brain, there are major difficulties for such a view. First, language has a core combination of features—semanticity, discrete infinity, and decoupling—that makes it unique among communication systems and that raise deep problems for the view that it evolved for communication. Second, extant models of communication systems—the code model of communication (Millikan, 2005) and the ostensive model of communication (Scott-Phillips, 2015) cannot account for language evolution. I propose an alternative view, according to which language first evolved as a cognitive tool, following Fodor’s (1975, 2008) Language of Thought Hypothesis, and was then exapted (externalized) for communication. On this view, a language-ready brain is a brain profoundly reorganized in terms of connectivity, allowing the human conceptual system to emerge, triggering the emergence of syntax. Language as used in communication inherited its core combination of features from the Language of Thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne C Reboul
- CNRS UMR 5304, Laboratory on Language, Brain and Cognition (L2C2), Institute for Cognitive Sciences-Marc Jeannerod Bron, France
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54
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Theofanopoulou C. Brain asymmetry in the white matter making and globularity. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1355. [PMID: 26441731 PMCID: PMC4564653 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2015] [Accepted: 08/24/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies from the field of language genetics and evolutionary anthropology have put forward the hypothesis that the emergence of our species-specific brain is to be understood not in terms of size, but in light of developmental changes that gave rise to a more globular braincase configuration after the split from Neanderthals-Denisovans. On the grounds that (i) white matter myelination is delayed relative to other brain structures and, in humans, is protracted compared with other primates and that (ii) neural connectivity is linked genetically to our brain/skull morphology and language-ready brain, I argue that one significant evolutionary change in Homo sapiens' lineage is the interhemispheric connectivity mediated by the Corpus Callosum. The size, myelination and fiber caliber of the Corpus Callosum present an anterior-to-posterior increase, in a way that inter-hemispheric connectivity is more prominent in the sensory motor areas, whereas "high- order" areas are more intra-hemispherically connected. Building on evidence from language-processing studies that account for this asymmetry ('lateralization') in terms of brain rhythms, I present an evo-devo hypothesis according to which the myelination of the Corpus Callosum, Brain Asymmetry, and Globularity are conjectured to make up the angles of a co-evolutionary triangle that gave rise to our language-ready brain.
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55
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Boeckx C, Benítez-Burraco A. Osteogenesis and neurogenesis: a robust link also for language evolution. Front Cell Neurosci 2015; 9:291. [PMID: 26283924 PMCID: PMC4516893 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2015] [Accepted: 07/15/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Cedric Boeckx
- Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies and Research Barcelona, Spain ; Linguistics, Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
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56
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Abstract
A number of recent studies have revealed correspondences between song- and language-related neural structures, pathways, and gene expression in humans and songbirds. Analyses of vocal learning, song structure, and the distribution of song elements have similarly revealed a remarkable number of shared characteristics with human speech. This article reviews recent developments in the understanding of these issues with reference to the phonological phenomena observed in human language. This investigation suggests that birds possess a host of abilities necessary for human phonological computation, as evidenced by behavioral, neuroanatomical, and molecular genetic studies. Vocal-learning birds therefore present an excellent model for studying some areas of human phonology, though differences in the primitives of song and language as well as the absence of a human-like morphosyntax make human phonology differ from birdsong phonology in crucial ways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridget D Samuels
- Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science, Pomona College Claremont, CA, USA ; Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA, USA
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57
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Benítez-Burraco A, Boeckx C. Possible functional links among brain- and skull-related genes selected in modern humans. Front Psychol 2015; 6:794. [PMID: 26136701 PMCID: PMC4468360 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 05/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The sequencing of the genomes from extinct hominins has revealed that changes in some brain-related genes have been selected after the split between anatomically-modern humans and Neanderthals/Denisovans. To date, no coherent view of these changes has been provided. Following a line of research we initiated in Boeckx and Benítez-Burraco (2014a), we hypothesize functional links among most of these genes and their products, based on the existing literature for each of the gene discussed. The genes we focus on are found mutated in different cognitive disorders affecting modern populations and their products are involved in skull and brain morphology, and neural connectivity. If our hypothesis turns out to be on the right track, it means that the changes affecting most of these proteins resulted in a more globular brain and ultimately brought about modern cognition, with its characteristic generativity and capacity to form and exploit cross-modular concepts, properties most clearly manifested in language.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Cedric Boeckx
- Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies , Barcelona, Spain ; Department of Linguistics, Universitat de Barcelona , Barcelona, Spain
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58
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Balari S, Lorenzo G. It is an organ, it is new, but it is not a new organ. Conceptualizing language from a homological perspective. Front Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Murphy E. Labels, cognomes, and cyclic computation: an ethological perspective. Front Psychol 2015; 6:715. [PMID: 26089809 PMCID: PMC4453271 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2015] [Accepted: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
For the past two decades, it has widely been assumed by linguists that there is a single computational operation, Merge, which is unique to language, distinguishing it from other cognitive domains. The intention of this paper is to progress the discussion of language evolution in two ways: (i) survey what the ethological record reveals about the uniqueness of the human computational system, and (ii) explore how syntactic theories account for what ethology may determine to be human-specific. It is shown that the operation Label, not Merge, constitutes the evolutionary novelty which distinguishes human language from non-human computational systems; a proposal lending weight to a Weak Continuity Hypothesis and leading to the formation of what is termed Computational Ethology. Some directions for future ethological research are suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elliot Murphy
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London , London, UK
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60
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Benítez-Burraco A, Boeckx C. Approaching motor and language deficits in autism from below: a biolinguistic perspective. Front Integr Neurosci 2015; 9:25. [PMID: 25870545 PMCID: PMC4378279 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2015.00025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2015] [Accepted: 03/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Cedric Boeckx
- Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies and Research (ICREA) Barcelona, Spain ; Department of Linguistics, Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
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61
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Benítez-Burraco A. Biological noise and H2A.Z: a promising connection for language. Front Genet 2015; 5:463. [PMID: 25620980 PMCID: PMC4288338 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2014.00463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2014] [Accepted: 12/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
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Benítez-Burraco A, Boeckx C. FOXP2, retinoic acid, and language: a promising direction. Front Cell Neurosci 2014; 8:387. [PMID: 25431551 PMCID: PMC4230053 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2014.00387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2014] [Accepted: 10/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Cedric Boeckx
- Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies and Research (ICREA) Barcelona, Spain ; Department of Linguistics, Universitat de Barcelona Barcelona, Spain
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63
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Leivada E, Boeckx C. Schizophrenia and cortical blindness: protective effects and implications for language. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:940. [PMID: 25506321 PMCID: PMC4246684 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2014] [Accepted: 11/04/2014] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The repeatedly noted absence of case-reports of individuals with schizophrenia and congenital/early developed blindness has led several authors to argue that the latter can confer protective effects against the former. In this work, we present a number of relevant case-reports from different syndromes that show comorbidity of congenital and early blindness with schizophrenia. On the basis of these reports, we argue that a distinction between different types of blindness in terms of the origin of the visual deficit, cortical or peripheral, is crucial for understanding the observed patterns of comorbidity. We discuss the genetic underpinnings and the brain structures involved in schizophrenia and blindness, with insights from language processing, laying emphasis on the three structures that particularly stand out: the occipital cortex, the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), and the pulvinar. Last, we build on previous literature on the nature of the protective effects in order to offer novel insights into the nature of the protection mechanism from the perspective of the brain structures involved in each type of blindness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelina Leivada
- Department of Linguistics, Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
| | - Cedric Boeckx
- Department of Linguistics, Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
- Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies and Research (ICREA)Barcelona, Spain
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64
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Boeckx C, Benítez-Burraco A. Globularity and language-readiness: generating new predictions by expanding the set of genes of interest. Front Psychol 2014; 5:1324. [PMID: 25505436 PMCID: PMC4243498 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2014] [Accepted: 10/31/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
This study builds on the hypothesis put forth in Boeckx and Benítez-Burraco (2014), according to which the developmental changes expressed at the levels of brain morphology and neural connectivity that resulted in a more globular braincase in our species were crucial to understand the origins of our language-ready brain. Specifically, this paper explores the links between two well-known 'language-related' genes like FOXP2 and ROBO1 implicated in vocal learning and the initial set of genes of interest put forth in Boeckx and Benítez-Burraco (2014), with RUNX2 as focal point. Relying on the existing literature, we uncover potential molecular links that could be of interest to future experimental inquiries into the biological foundations of language and the testing of our initial hypothesis. Our discussion could also be relevant for clinical linguistics and for the interpretation of results from paleogenomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cedric Boeckx
- Catalan Institute for Advanced Studies and Research (ICREA)Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Linguistics, Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain
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65
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Hauser MD, Yang C, Berwick RC, Tattersall I, Ryan MJ, Watumull J, Chomsky N, Lewontin RC. The mystery of language evolution. Front Psychol 2014; 5:401. [PMID: 24847300 PMCID: PMC4019876 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2014] [Accepted: 04/16/2014] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the evolution of language requires evidence regarding origins and processes that led to change. In the last 40 years, there has been an explosion of research on this problem as well as a sense that considerable progress has been made. We argue instead that the richness of ideas is accompanied by a poverty of evidence, with essentially no explanation of how and why our linguistic computations and representations evolved. We show that, to date, (1) studies of nonhuman animals provide virtually no relevant parallels to human linguistic communication, and none to the underlying biological capacity; (2) the fossil and archaeological evidence does not inform our understanding of the computations and representations of our earliest ancestors, leaving details of origins and selective pressure unresolved; (3) our understanding of the genetics of language is so impoverished that there is little hope of connecting genes to linguistic processes any time soon; (4) all modeling attempts have made unfounded assumptions, and have provided no empirical tests, thus leaving any insights into language's origins unverifiable. Based on the current state of evidence, we submit that the most fundamental questions about the origins and evolution of our linguistic capacity remain as mysterious as ever, with considerable uncertainty about the discovery of either relevant or conclusive evidence that can adjudicate among the many open hypotheses. We conclude by presenting some suggestions about possible paths forward.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Charles Yang
- Department of Linguistics and Computer and Information Sciences, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Robert C Berwick
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ian Tattersall
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History New York, NY, USA
| | - Michael J Ryan
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas Austin, TX, USA
| | - Jeffrey Watumull
- Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, Cambridge University Cambridge, UK
| | - Noam Chomsky
- Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Richard C Lewontin
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University Cambridge, MA, USA
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