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Bernacer J. Caring for people with disability and human growth: evolutionary perspectives and contribution to psychological wellbeing. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1371436. [PMID: 38979063 PMCID: PMC11228328 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1371436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024] Open
Abstract
From an evolutionary point of view, organisms with mutations resulting in maladaptation are an unavoidable result of genetic variability, and they do not usually survive natural selection. Thus, they do not produce benefits for the species. I contend that this is different in humans at two levels. First, the existence of people with disability has been essential for human growth as a species. Human ancestors' evolving cognitive and social abilities were boosted by caring for vulnerable members of the species, including premature offspring and people with disability. Therefore, caregiving was an essential trait of the evolution of humans, intertwined with the development of bipedalism, the hand, face, vocal apparatus, and brain. Second, caring for disability is also a source of growth at a personal level. Even though most scientific literature focuses on the stress and burden caused by caring for people with disability, there is solid evidence to accept caregiving as a source of happiness and flourishing for human beings. Hence, disability still has an essential role in improving human life nowadays. Contrary to this evidence, influential utilitarian bioethicists promote the elimination of disability from modern societies. Following the arguments presented here, this will lead to the withering of society. In conclusion, disability should be acknowledged as an essential source of growth for the human species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Bernacer
- Mind-Brain Group, Institute for Culture and Society (ICS), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
- International Center of Neuroscience and Ethics (CINET), Tatiana Foundation, Madrid, Spain
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Mertens EJ, Leibner Y, Pie J, Galakhova AA, Waleboer F, Meijer J, Heistek TS, Wilbers R, Heyer D, Goriounova NA, Idema S, Verhoog MB, Kalmbach BE, Lee BR, Gwinn RP, Lein ES, Aronica E, Ting J, Mansvelder HD, Segev I, de Kock CPJ. Morpho-electric diversity of human hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114100. [PMID: 38607921 PMCID: PMC11106460 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Hippocampal pyramidal neuron activity underlies episodic memory and spatial navigation. Although extensively studied in rodents, extremely little is known about human hippocampal pyramidal neurons, even though the human hippocampus underwent strong evolutionary reorganization and shows lower theta rhythm frequencies. To test whether biophysical properties of human Cornu Amonis subfield 1 (CA1) pyramidal neurons can explain observed rhythms, we map the morpho-electric properties of individual CA1 pyramidal neurons in human, non-pathological hippocampal slices from neurosurgery. Human CA1 pyramidal neurons have much larger dendritic trees than mouse CA1 pyramidal neurons, have a large number of oblique dendrites, and resonate at 2.9 Hz, optimally tuned to human theta frequencies. Morphological and biophysical properties suggest cellular diversity along a multidimensional gradient rather than discrete clustering. Across the population, dendritic architecture and a large number of oblique dendrites consistently boost memory capacity in human CA1 pyramidal neurons by an order of magnitude compared to mouse CA1 pyramidal neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eline J Mertens
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Yoni Leibner
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Jean Pie
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Anna A Galakhova
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Femke Waleboer
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Julia Meijer
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Tim S Heistek
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - René Wilbers
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Djai Heyer
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Natalia A Goriounova
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sander Idema
- Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, Amsterdam 1081 HV, the Netherlands
| | - Matthijs B Verhoog
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Brian R Lee
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Ryder P Gwinn
- Epilepsy Surgery and Functional Neurosurgery, Swedish Neuroscience Institute, Seattle, WA 98122, USA
| | - Ed S Lein
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Eleonora Aronica
- Department of (Neuro)Pathology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jonathan Ting
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Huibert D Mansvelder
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Idan Segev
- The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
| | - Christiaan P J de Kock
- Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
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Marzi SJ, Schilder BM, Nott A, Frigerio CS, Willaime-Morawek S, Bucholc M, Hanger DP, James C, Lewis PA, Lourida I, Noble W, Rodriguez-Algarra F, Sharif JA, Tsalenchuk M, Winchester LM, Yaman Ü, Yao Z, Ranson JM, Llewellyn DJ. Artificial intelligence for neurodegenerative experimental models. Alzheimers Dement 2023; 19:5970-5987. [PMID: 37768001 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Experimental models are essential tools in neurodegenerative disease research. However, the translation of insights and drugs discovered in model systems has proven immensely challenging, marred by high failure rates in human clinical trials. METHODS Here we review the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in experimental medicine for dementia research. RESULTS Considering the specific challenges of reproducibility and translation between other species or model systems and human biology in preclinical dementia research, we highlight best practices and resources that can be leveraged to quantify and evaluate translatability. We then evaluate how AI and ML approaches could be applied to enhance both cross-model reproducibility and translation to human biology, while sustaining biological interpretability. DISCUSSION AI and ML approaches in experimental medicine remain in their infancy. However, they have great potential to strengthen preclinical research and translation if based upon adequate, robust, and reproducible experimental data. HIGHLIGHTS There are increasing applications of AI in experimental medicine. We identified issues in reproducibility, cross-species translation, and data curation in the field. Our review highlights data resources and AI approaches as solutions. Multi-omics analysis with AI offers exciting future possibilities in drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J Marzi
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Brian M Schilder
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Alexi Nott
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | | | - Magda Bucholc
- School of Computing, Engineering & Intelligent Systems, Ulster University, Derry, UK
| | - Diane P Hanger
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | | | - Patrick A Lewis
- Royal Veterinary College, London, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | | | - Wendy Noble
- Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | | | - Jalil-Ahmad Sharif
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Maria Tsalenchuk
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | | | - Ümran Yaman
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK
| | | | | | - David J Llewellyn
- University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK
- Alan Turing Institute, London, UK
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Schwartz E, Nenning KH, Heuer K, Jeffery N, Bertrand OC, Toro R, Kasprian G, Prayer D, Langs G. Evolution of cortical geometry and its link to function, behaviour and ecology. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2252. [PMID: 37080952 PMCID: PMC10119184 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37574-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies in comparative neuroanatomy and of the fossil record demonstrate the influence of socio-ecological niches on the morphology of the cerebral cortex, but have led to oftentimes conflicting theories about its evolution. Here, we study the relationship between the shape of the cerebral cortex and the topography of its function. We establish a joint geometric representation of the cerebral cortices of ninety species of extant Euarchontoglires, including commonly used experimental model organisms. We show that variability in surface geometry relates to species' ecology and behaviour, independent of overall brain size. Notably, ancestral shape reconstruction of the cortical surface and its change during evolution enables us to trace the evolutionary history of localised cortical expansions, modal segregation of brain function, and their association to behaviour and cognition. We find that individual cortical regions follow different sequences of area increase during evolutionary adaptations to dynamic socio-ecological niches. Anatomical correlates of this sequence of events are still observable in extant species, and relate to their current behaviour and ecology. We decompose the deep evolutionary history of the shape of the human cortical surface into spatially and temporally conscribed components with highly interpretable functional associations, highlighting the importance of considering the evolutionary history of cortical regions when studying their anatomy and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernst Schwartz
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karl-Heinz Nenning
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Katja Heuer
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et Théorique, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Nathan Jeffery
- Institute of Life Course & Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England
| | - Ornella C Bertrand
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès., Barcelona, Spain
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH9 3FE, United Kingdom
| | - Roberto Toro
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et Théorique, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Gregor Kasprian
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniela Prayer
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Georg Langs
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Maliković J, Amrein I, Vinciguerra L, Lalošević D, Wolfer DP, Slomianka L. Cell numbers in the reflected blade of CA3 and their relation to other hippocampal principal cell populations across seven species. Front Neuroanat 2023; 16:1070035. [PMID: 36686574 PMCID: PMC9846821 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2022.1070035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The hippocampus of many mammals contains a histoarchitectural region that is not present in laboratory mice and rats-the reflected blade of the CA3 pyramidal cell layer. Pyramidal cells of the reflected blade do not extend dendrites into the hippocampal molecular layer, and recent evidence indicates that they, like the proximal CA3 pyramids in laboratory rats and mice, partially integrate functionally with the dentate circuitry in pattern separation. Quantitative assessments of phylogenetic or disease-related changes in the hippocampal structure and function treat the reflected blade heterogeneously. Depending on the ease with which it can be differentiated, it is either assigned to the dentate hilus or to the remainder of CA3. Here, we investigate the impact that the differential assignment of reflected blade neurons may have on the outcomes of quantitative comparisons. We find it to be massive. If reflected blade neurons are treated as a separate entity or pooled with dentate hilar cells, the quantitative makeup of hippocampal cell populations can differentiate between species in a taxonomically sensible way. Assigning reflected blade neurons to CA3 greatly diminishes the differentiating power of all hippocampal principal cell populations, which may point towards a quantitative hippocampal archetype. A heterogeneous assignment results in a differentiation pattern with little taxonomic semblance. The outcomes point towards the reflected blade as either a major potential player in hippocampal functional and structural differentiation or a region that may have cloaked that hippocampi are more similarly organized across species than generally believed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jovana Maliković
- Division of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute of Anatomy, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Irmgard Amrein
- Division of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute of Anatomy, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland,Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | | | | | - David P. Wolfer
- Division of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute of Anatomy, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland,Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Slomianka
- Division of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute of Anatomy, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland,Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland,*Correspondence: Lutz Slomianka
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DeCasien AR, Barton RA, Higham JP. Understanding the human brain: insights from comparative biology. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:432-445. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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Abstract
Although rodent research provides important insights into neural correlates of human psychology, new cortical areas, connections, and cognitive abilities emerged during primate evolution, including human evolution. Comparison of human brains with those of nonhuman primates reveals two aspects of human brain evolution particularly relevant to emotional disorders: expansion of homotypical association areas and expansion of the hippocampus. Two uniquely human cognitive capacities link these phylogenetic developments with emotion: a subjective sense of participating in and reexperiencing remembered events and a limitless capacity to imagine details of future events. These abilities provided evolving humans with selective advantages, but they also created proclivities for emotional problems. The first capacity evokes the "reliving" of past events in the "here-and-now," accompanied by emotional responses that occurred during memory encoding. It contributes to risk for stress-related syndromes, such as posttraumatic stress disorder. The second capacity, an ability to imagine future events without temporal limitations, facilitates flexible, goal-related behavior by drawing on and creating a uniquely rich array of mental representations. It promotes goal achievement and reduces errors, but the mental construction of future events also contributes to developmental aspects of anxiety and mood disorders. With maturation of homotypical association areas, the concrete concerns of childhood expand to encompass the abstract apprehensions of adolescence and adulthood. These cognitive capacities and their dysfunction are amenable to a research agenda that melds experimental therapeutic interventions, cognitive neuropsychology, and developmental psychology in both humans and nonhuman primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel S. Pine
- Section on Development and Affective Neuroscience, Emotion and Development Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
| | - Steven P. Wise
- Olschefskie Institute for the Neurobiology of Knowledge, Bethesda, MD 20814
| | - Elisabeth A. Murray
- Section on the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD 20892
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Benítez-Burraco A, Ferretti F, Progovac L. Human Self-Domestication and the Evolution of Pragmatics. Cogn Sci 2021; 45:e12987. [PMID: 34170029 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 04/25/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
As proposed for the emergence of modern languages, we argue that modern uses of languages (pragmatics) also evolved gradually in our species under the effects of human self-domestication, with three key aspects involved in a complex feedback loop: (a) a reduction in reactive aggression, (b) the sophistication of language structure (with emerging grammars initially facilitating the transition from physical aggression to verbal aggression); and (c) the potentiation of pragmatic principles governing conversation, including, but not limited to, turn-taking and inferential abilities. Our core hypothesis is that the reduction in reactive aggression, one of the key factors in self-domestication processes, enabled us to fully exploit our cognitive and interactional potential as applied to linguistic exchanges, and ultimately to evolve a specific form of communication governed by persuasive reciprocity-a trait of human conversation characterized by both competition and cooperation. In turn, both early crude forms of language, well suited for verbal aggression/insult, and later more sophisticated forms of language, well suited for persuasive reciprocity, significantly contributed to the resolution and reduction of (physical) aggression, thus having a return effect on the self-domestication processes. Supporting evidence for our proposal, as well as grounds for further testing, comes mainly from the consideration of cognitive disorders, which typically simultaneously present abnormal features of self-domestication (including aggressive behavior) and problems with pragmatics and social functioning. While various approaches to language evolution typically reduce it to a single factor, our approach considers language evolution as a multifactorial process, with each player acting upon the other, engaging in an intense mutually reinforcing feedback loop. Moreover, we see language evolution as a gradual process, continuous with the pre-linguistic cognitive abilities, which were engaged in a positive feedback loop with linguistic innovations, and where gene-culture co-evolution and cultural niche construction were the main driving forces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Benítez-Burraco
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics and Theory of Literature (Linguistics), Faculty of Philology, University of Seville
| | - Francesco Ferretti
- Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts. Roma Tre University
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Benítez-Burraco A. Mental time travel, language evolution, and human self-domestication. Cogn Process 2021; 22:363-367. [DOI: 10.1007/s10339-020-01005-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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