Dopaminergic systems expansion and the advent of Homo erectus

DeLouize, Alicia M.; Coolidge, Frederick L.; Wynn, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.10.123

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 78 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, there is nothing known about this earliest technology that would have selected for the increase in brain size. These tools were used to butcher animal carcasses obtained through scavenging, and this access to higher-quality nutrition arguably powered the increase (for greater detail on the relationship of meat to the evolution of cognition, see DeLouize, Coolidge, & Wynn, 2016).…”

Section: The First Major Leap In the Evolution Of Human Cognition: Twmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Introduction to Cognitive Archaeology

Coolidge¹,

Wynn

2016

Curr Dir Psychol Sci

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cognitive archaeology studies human cognitive evolution by applying cognitive-science theories and concepts to archaeological remains of the prehistoric past. After reviewing the basic epistemological stance of cognitive archaeology, this article illustrates this interdisciplinary endeavor through an examination of two of the most important transitions in hominin cognitive evolution-the appearance of Homo erectus about 2 million years ago, and the recent enhancement of working-memory capacity within the past 200,000 years. Although intentionally created stone tools date to about 3.3 million years ago, Homo erectus produced a bifacial, symmetrical handaxe whose design then persisted for nearly the next 2 million years. An enhancement in working-memory capacity may have been responsible for the relative explosion of culture within the past 50,000 years, which included personal ornamentation, highly ritualized burials, bow-and-arrow technology, depictive cave art, and artistic figurines.

show abstract

Section: The First Major Leap In the Evolution Of Human Cognition: Twmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Introduction to Cognitive Archaeology

Coolidge¹,

Wynn

2016

Curr Dir Psychol Sci

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In support of the notion that behavioural and cognitive modernity existed in H. erectus, it is worth noting research that suggests the up regulation of the dopaminergic system may have occurred in this species (DeLouize et al 2017). Dopamine is believed to be involved in cognitive skills such as human language, motor planning, working memory, cognitive flexibility and abstract reasoning -abilities that are believed to have facilitated endurance running, hunting and the demographic expansion of early hominins (Previc 1999;Previc 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dopamine is believed to be involved in cognitive skills such as human language, motor planning, working memory, cognitive flexibility and abstract reasoning -abilities that are believed to have facilitated endurance running, hunting and the demographic expansion of early hominins (Previc 1999;Previc 2009). Given the ability of H. erectus to make Acheulean tools and the possibility of maritime craft manufacture and navigation, the role of dopamine in novelty-seeking, exploratory behaviour and tool manufacture, suggests the dopaminergic system may have been central to the evolution of H. erectus (DeLouize et al 2017). And such up regulation of the dopaminergic system -a system that is central to the uniqueness of modern human populations -could be selected for in the absence of the emergence of more globular skull shape.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive and behavioral modernity in Homo erectus: skull globularity and hominin brain evolution

Clark

Henneberg

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this article we provide evidence that evolutionary pressures altered the cranial base and the mastoid region of the temporal bone more than the calvaria in the transition from H. erectus to H. sapiens. This process seems to have resulted in the evolution of more globular skull shape – but not as a result of expansion of the brain in the parietal regions but of reduction of the cranial base and the mastoid region relative to the parietals. Consequently, we argue that expansion of the parietals seems to be unrelated to brain evolution, but is more a by-product of reduction in other regions of the skull, reduction that may be related to dietary factors. Additionally, these findings suggest that cognitive and behavioural modernity may not necessarily be dependent on brain shape. Also, it cannot be attributed to the change in brain size because H. erectus and modern human cranial capacities overlap substantially. Consequently, we suggest H. erectus possessed the full suite of cognitive adaptations characteristic of modern humans without possessing a globular skull with flared parietals. Our results also support the theory that paedomorphic morphogenesis of the skull was important in the transition from H. erectus to H. sapiens and that such changes may be related to both dietary factors and social evolution.

show abstract

“…Crosstalk or an intimate relationship between oxytocin and dopamine in striatum, combining motivation and vigour with reward-seeking social focus, may also be important (Feldman 2017: 80). Whilst oxytocin provides the soothing and tranquillity necessary for bond formation via its effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, dopamine provides a sense of anticipated reward and pleasure, and influences drives to reconnect and act to maintain long-term bonds, potentially important in early human origins (DeLouize et al 2017). Changes in other hormone systems are also implicated in increasing collaboration.…”

Section: Evolutionary Pressures On Emotional Motivationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As outlined in Part 1, changes in emotional responses are likely to have been important in transformations in social relationships occurring after 2 million years ago. There are suggestions that these changes may have included changes in dopamine as a result of an increase in available fats through increased meat eating (DeLouize et al 2017). Nonetheless, this hormone may have been most significant in more recent periods.…”

Section: The Physiology Of Changes In Approach Behaviour -How Changes...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Hidden Depths: The Origins of Human Connection

Spikins

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Hidden Depths, Professor Penny Spikins explores how our emotional connections have shaped human ancestry. Focusing on three key transitions in human origins, Professor Spikins explains how the emotional capacities of our early ancestors evolved in response to ecological changes, much like similar changes in other social mammals. For each transition, dedicated chapters examine evolutionary pressures, responses in changes in human emotional capacities and the archaeological evidence for human social behaviours. Starting from our earliest origins, in Part One, Professor Spikins explores how after two million years ago, movement of human ancestors into a new ecological niche drove new types of collaboration, including care for vulnerable members of the group. Emotional adaptations lead to cognitive changes, as new connections based on compassion, generosity, trust and inclusion also changed our relationship to material things. Part Two explores a later key transition in human emotional capacities occurring after 300,000 years ago. At this time changes in social tolerance allowed ancestors of our own species to further reach out beyond their local group and care about distant allies, making human communities resilient to environmental changes. An increasingly close relationship to animals, and even to cherished possessions, appeared at this time, and can be explained through new human vulnerabilities and ways of seeking comfort and belonging. Lastly, Part Three focuses on the contrasts in emotional dispositions arising between ourselves and our close cousins, the Neanderthals. Neanderthals are revealed as equally caring yet emotionally different humans, who might, if things had been different, have been in our place today. This new narrative breaks away from traditional views of human evolution as exceptional or as a linear progression towards a more perfect form. Instead, our evolutionary history is situated within similar processes occurring in other mammals, and explained as one in which emotions, rather than ‘intellect’, were key to our evolutionary journey. Moreover, changes in emotional capacities and dispositions are seen as part of differing pathways each bringing strengths, weaknesses and compromises. These hidden depths provide an explanation for many of the emotional sensitivities and vulnerabilities which continue to influence our world today.

show abstract

Dopaminergic systems expansion and the advent of Homo erectus

Cited by 8 publications

References 78 publications

An Introduction to Cognitive Archaeology

An Introduction to Cognitive Archaeology

Cognitive and behavioral modernity in Homo erectus: skull globularity and hominin brain evolution

Hidden Depths: The Origins of Human Connection

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About