38 research outputs found
Play to learn. Teach by play
The synthesis provided by Kline in the target article is noteworthy, but ignores the inseparable role of play in the evolution of learning and teaching in both humans and other animals. Play is distinguished and advantaged by its positive feedback reinforcement through pleasure. Play, especially between adults and infants, is probably the platform from which human learning and teaching evolved
Orangutans modify facial displays depending on recipient attention
Primate facial expressions are widely accepted as underpinned by reflexive emotional processes and not under voluntary control. In contrast, other modes of primate communication, especially gestures, are widely accepted as underpinned by intentional, goal-driven cognitive processes. One reason for this distinction is that production of primate gestures is often sensitive to the attentional state of the recipient, a phenomenon used as one of the key behavioural criteria for identifying intentionality in signal production. The reasoning is that modifying/producing a signal when a potential recipient is looking could demonstrate that the sender intends to communicate with them. Here, we show that the production of a primate facial expression can also be sensitive to the attention of the play partner. Using the orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) Facial Action Coding System (OrangFACS), we demonstrate that facial movements are more intense and more complex when recipient attention is directed towards the sender. Therefore, production of the playface is not an automated response to play (or simply a play behaviour itself) and is instead produced flexibly depending on the context. If sensitivity to attentional stance is a good indicator of intentionality, we must also conclude that the orangutan playface is intentionally produced. However, a number of alternative, lower level interpretations for flexible production of signals in response to the attention of another are discussed. As intentionality is a key feature of human language, claims of intentional communication in related primate species are powerful drivers in language evolution debates, and thus caution in identifying intentionality is important
The EMIF-AD PreclinAD study: study design and baseline cohort overview
BACKGROUND: Amyloid pathology is the pathological hallmark in Alzheimerâs disease (AD) and can precede clinical
dementia by decades. So far it remains unclear how amyloid pathology leads to cognitive impairment and dementia.
To design AD prevention trials it is key to include cognitively normal subjects at high risk for amyloid pathology and to
find predictors of cognitive decline in these subjects. These goals can be accomplished by targeting twins, with
additional benefits to identify genetic and environmental pathways for amyloid pathology, other AD biomarkers,
and cognitive decline.
METHODS: From December 2014 to October 2017 we enrolled cognitively normal participants aged 60 years and
older from the ongoing Manchester and Newcastle Age and Cognitive Performance Research Cohort and the
Netherlands Twins Register. In Manchester we included single individuals, and in Amsterdam monozygotic twin
pairs. At baseline, participants completed neuropsychological tests and questionnaires, and underwent physical
examination, blood sampling, ultrasound of the carotid arteries, structural and resting state functional brain magnetic
resonance imaging, and dynamic amyloid positron emission tomography (PET) scanning with [18F]flutemetamol. In
addition, the twin cohort underwent lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid collection, buccal cell collection,
magnetoencephalography, optical coherence tomography, and retinal imaging.
RESULTS: We included 285 participants, who were on average 74.8 ± 9.7 years old, 64% female. Fifty-eight participants
(22%) had an abnormal amyloid PET scan.
CONCLUSIONS: A rich baseline dataset of cognitively normal elderly individuals has been established to estimate risk
factors and biomarkers for amyloid pathology and future cognitive declin
Introduction to the special issue. The intersubjectivity of embodiment.
The aim of this special issue is to bring together researchers embracing different approaches â neuroscientists, psychologists, semioticians, linguists, philosophers, and anthropologists â to outline principles that could provide an intersubjective foundation for embodiment
Exploring the evolutionary foundations of empathy: Consolation in monkeys
Unsolicited third-party affiliation occurs when victims of aggression receive a spontaneous affinitive
contact from a bystander. Consolation is a specific type of unsolicited third-party affiliation showing two
key components: 1) it alleviates distress in the victims and 2) is preferentially directed towards friends.
Consolation was thought to be present only in humans, chimpanzees, and bonobos linked to their higher
cognitive and empathic abilities. Previous investigations in monkeys found unsolicited third-party affiliation
in only two species with no evidence of consolation. In the research presented here we set out to test a
number of hypotheses concerning third-party affiliation in Macaca fuscata and M. tonkeana, two species that
differ remarkably for social style. M. fuscata is despotic, while M. tonkeana is one of the most tolerant species of
macaques. We found no evidence of unsolicited third-party affiliation in M. fuscata, but it was present in
M. tonkeana. In this species we found that unsolicited third-party affiliation reduced anxiety (measured by
scratching) in the victims and was directed towards friends and especially towards females who experienced
higher levels of anxiety compared to males. Third-party affiliation also occurred more frequently in the
absence of reconciliation. All the key features used to recognize consolation in humans and great apes are
present in M. tonkeana making it difficult not to conclude that consolation exists in this species. Since
consolation is most often considered to be driven by empathy, our results suggest that Tonkean macaques are
capable of empathetically reacting to the victimâs state of anxiety. Our results support the Social Constraints
Hypothesis showing that the degree of tolerance is a key factor in the expression of consolation. Investigating
behavioral patterns driven by even the most basic forms of empathy requires the choice of an appropriate
species and Macaca tonkeana is a good model to investigate the full phylogenetic range, evolutionary depth,
and origin of empathy in primates