Preprint
Article
Oxygen and the Spark of Human Brain Evolution: a Complex Systems Account
Altmetrics
Downloads
479
Views
475
Comments
0
† Note: authors contributed equally
This version is not peer-reviewed
Submitted:
30 May 2022
Posted:
01 June 2022
You are already at the latest version
Alerts
Abstract
Scientific theories on the functioning and dysfunction of the human brain require a good understanding of both its development — before and after birth, and through maturation to adulthood — and its evolution from the ancestral primate brain. Adopting a complex-systems approach, here we propose that the apparent uniqueness of humans’ cognitive capacities might best be understood as emerging from multiple nested “virtuous cycles.” In particular, we propose that the intimate link that exists between oxygen metabolic loops, cortical expansion, and ultimately cognitive and social demands is a key driver of genetic developmental programs for the human brain. Overall, our proposed evolutionary model makes explicit mechanistic links between metabolism, molecular and cellular brain heterogeneity, and behaviour that may in time provide a clearer understanding of brain developmental trajectories and their disorders.
Keywords:
Subject: Medicine and Pharmacology - Neuroscience and Neurology
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.
MDPI Initiatives
Important Links
© 2024 MDPI (Basel, Switzerland) unless otherwise stated