L'origen de l'home: Darwin i la psicologia

The purpose of this article is to review the psychological evidence presented by Darwin in The Origin of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, as well as the complex reciprocal relationships between evolutionism and psychology. The theory of evolution by natural selection has been, is, and will be fundamental for psychology, since it allows us to better understand behavior and psychological processes in humans and other animals. The influence of the theory of evolution on psychology has been varied. On the one hand, the recognition of the similarities between humans and other animals due to biological continuity prompted experimental studies on the causal mechanisms of behavior, justifying the use of laboratory animals as models to study the basis of human psychological processes. On the other hand, the idea of continuity in the psychological capacities of all animals gave rise to animal psychology and comparative psychology, which study the similarities and differences between the psychological processes and behaviors of different species. The recent incorporation of the evolutionary perspective to the understanding of the design of the human mind by evolutionary psychology deserves a separate mention. Darwinian approaches to the study of human behavior are a source of considerable controversy and have given rise to conflicting positions ranging from euphoric acceptance to furious rejection.L’objectiu d’aquest article és revisar les proves psicològiques que presenta Darwin a L’origen de l’home i la selecció en relació al sexe, així com les complexes relacions recíproques entre l’evolucionisme i la psicologia. La teoria de l’evolució per selecció natural ha estat, és i serà fonamental per a la psicologia, ja que ens permet comprendre millor el comportament i els processos psicològics d’humans i altres animals. La influència de la teoria de l’evolució sobre la psicologia ha estat molt diversa. D’una banda, el reconeixement de les semblances entre l’home i altres animals degudes a la continuïtat biològica va impulsar els estudis experimentals per conèixer els mecanismes causals de la conducta, en justificar l’ús d’animals de laboratori com a models per estudiar-hi les bases dels processos psicològics humans. D’altra banda, la idea de continuïtat en les capacitats psicològiques de tots els animals va donar lloc a la psicologia animal i la psicologia comparada, que estudien les semblances i diferències entre els processos psicològics i els comportaments de diferents espècies. Mereix un esment especial la recent incorporació de la perspectiva evolutiva a la comprensió del disseny de la ment humana que fa la psicologia evolucionista. Les aproximacions darwinistes a l’estudi del comportament humà són font de molta controvèrsia i han donat lloc a posicions oposades que van de l’acceptació eufòrica al rebuig més furiós

Combinatorial expression of Lef1, Lhx2, Lhx5, Lhx9, Lmo3, Lmo4, and Prox1 helps to identify comparable subdivisions in the developing hippocampal formation of mouse and chicken

We carried out a study of the expression patterns of seven developmental regulatory genes (Lef1, Lhx2, Lhx9, Lhx5, Lmo3, Lmo4, and Prox1), in combination with topological position, to identify the medial pallial derivatives, define its major subdivisions, and compare them between mouse and chicken. In both species, the medial pallium is defined as a pallial sector adjacent to the cortical hem and roof plate/choroid tela, showing moderate to strong ventricular zone expression of Lef1, Lhx2, and Lhx9, but not Lhx5. Based on this, the hippocampal formation (indusium griseum, dentate gyrus, Ammon's horn fields, and subiculum), the medial entorhinal cortex, and part of the amygdalo-hippocampal transition area of mouse appeared to derive from the medial pallium. In the chicken, based on the same position and gene expression profile, we propose that the hippocampus (including the V-shaped area), the parahippocampal area (including its caudolateral part), the entorhinal cortex, and the amygdalo-hippocampal transition area are medial pallial derivatives. Moreover, the combinatorial expression of Lef1, Prox1, Lmo4, and Lmo3 allowed the identification of dentate gyrus/CA3-like, CA1/subicular-like, and medial entorhinal-like comparable sectors in mouse and chicken, and point to the existence of mostly conserved molecular networks involved in hippocampal complex development. Notably, while the mouse medial entorhinal cortex derives from the medial pallium (similarly to the hippocampal formation, both being involved in spatial navigation and spatial memory), the lateral entorhinal cortex (involved in processing non-spatial, contextual information) appears to derive from a distinct dorsolateral caudal pallial sector.Supported by a grant to Loreta Medina from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (MINECO) and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER): grant no. BFU2012-33029