In the comparative approach, the evolution of different species is compared to shed light on present day human behavior. Using a comparative approach to behavior allows one to evaluate the target behavior from four different, complementary perspectives, developed by Niko Tinbergen.[4] First, one may ask how pervasive the behavior is across species (i.e. how common is the behavior between animal species?). Second, one may ask how the behavior contributes to the lifetime reproductive success of the individuals demonstrating the behavior (i.e. does the behavior result in animals producing more offspring than animals not displaying the behavior)? These two questions provide a theory for the ultimate cause of behavior.
Third, what mechanisms are involved in the behavior (i.e. what physiological, behavioral, and environmental components are necessary and sufficient for the generation of the behavior)? Fourth, a researcher may ask about the development of the behavior within an individual (i.e. what maturational, learning, social experiences must an individual undergo in order to demonstrate a behavior)? These latter two questions provide a theory for the proximate causes of behavior.
In addition to having more neurons in the association cortex, brain imaging studies comparing the brains of humans to other primates show humans have a greater number of fibers connecting the brain regions involved in such human-specialized functions as language, tool making, reasoning, and social cognition. Understanding the evolution of these connections in the human brain is a major focus of my laboratory.
As humans evolved, studies show that changes occurred in their patterns of gene expression in the brain, impacting everything from brain metabolism to the ability of cells to establish new connections with other cells. Such differences in gene activity are believed to have contributed to greater levels of neuronal activity and plasticity across much of the lifespan, and may have influenced our susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer's disease) and to neuropsychiatric diseases (such as autism and schizophrenia). Compared to other mammals, humans appear to be unusually, and perhaps uniquely, vulnerable to these diseases.
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