Wintz , Wintz

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  • January 7, 2009
  • 12:00 AM
  • 1,443 views

Schizophrenia and brain evolution (plus bold adjectives)

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

When exploring the etiology of schizophrenia, a feat that has mostly eluded understanding for over 100 years, a common denominator emerges in that associated deficiencies are rooted in cognitively demanding tasks. One suggestion is that, where schizophrenic individuals are involved, disorganised thoughts, abnormal speech, auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions are symptomatic consequences of [...]... Read more »

Philipp Khaitovich, Helen E Lockstone, Matthew T Wayland, Tsz M Tsang, Samantha D Jayatilaka, Arfu J Guo, Jie Zhou, Mehmet Somel, Laura W Harris, Elaine Holmes.... (2008) Metabolic changes in schizophrenia and human brain evolution. Genome Biology, 9(8). DOI: 10.1186/gb-2008-9-8-r124  

  • January 7, 2009
  • 07:00 AM
  • 1,434 views

Orangutans - probably more interesting than you

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

In the past few years there has been a recent spate of articles concerning orangutan intelligence. So, as I’m fairly bored, and in need of a break from university work, I’ve decided to write a bit of an essay on some of these finds.

Orangutans… They’re orange, right?

Correct; but Pongo pygmaeus abelii are so much more [...]... Read more »

M Nakamichi. (2004) Tool-use and tool-making by captive, group-living orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abelii) at an artificial termite mound. Behavioural Processes, 65(1), 87-93. DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2003.07.002  

V. Dufour, M. Pelé, M. Neumann, B. Thierry, & J. Call. (2009) Calculated reciprocity after all: computation behind token transfers in orang-utans. Biology Letters, -1(-1), -1--1. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0644  

Serge A. Wich, Karyl B. Swartz, Madeleine E. Hardus, Adriano R. Lameira, Erin Stromberg, & Robert W. Shumaker. (2008) A case of spontaneous acquisition of a human sound by an orangutan. Primates. DOI: 10.1007/s10329-008-0117-y  

  • January 24, 2009
  • 02:21 PM
  • 1,280 views

ASPM, Microcephalin and Tone

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

Disclaimer: I know this post is on a paper released over a year ago; however, I’m still going to write about it for three reasons: 1) I did a presentation about it earlier this week (20/01/08); 2) I think it relates to a recent buzz around gene-culture co-evolution; and, 3) It’s a bloody awesome [...]... Read more »

D. Dediu, & D. R. Ladd. (2007) From the Cover: Linguistic tone is related to the population frequency of the adaptive haplogroups of two brain size genes, ASPM and Microcephalin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(26), 10944-10949. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0610848104  

  • July 27, 2010
  • 01:57 PM
  • 1,249 views

Culture-driven population dynamics: sustainable or unsustainable?

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo 2.0

When looking at culture-driven population dynamics, a common assumption is that there’s a positive feedback between cultural evolution and demographic growth. The general prediction, then, is for unlimited growth in population and culture. Yet models based on these assumptions tend to ignore important aspects of cultural evolution, namely: (1) cultural transmission . . . → Read More: Culture-driven population dynamics: sustainable or unsustainable?... Read more »

Ghirlanda, S., Enquist, M., & Perc, M. (2010) Sustainability of culture-driven population dynamics☆. Theoretical Population Biology, 77(3), 181-188. DOI: 10.1016/j.tpb.2010.01.004  

  • August 3, 2010
  • 04:20 PM
  • 1,095 views

Experiments in Communication pt 1: Artificial Language Learning and Constructed Communication Systems

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo 2.0

Much of recent research in linguistics has involved the use of experimentation to directly test hypotheses by comparing and contrasting real-world data with that of laboratory results and computer simulations. In a previous post I looked at how humans, non-human primates, and even non-human animals are all capable of high-fidelity cultural transmission. Yet, to apply this . . . → Read More: Experiments in Communication pt 1: Artificial Language Learning and Constructed Communication Systems... Read more »

Hudson Kam, C., & Newport, E. (2009) Getting it right by getting it wrong: When learners change languages. Cognitive Psychology, 59(1), 30-66. DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2009.01.001  

Kam, C., & Newport, E. (2005) Regularizing Unpredictable Variation: The Roles of Adult and Child Learners in Language Formation and Change. Language Learning and Development, 1(2), 151-195. DOI: 10.1207/s15473341lld0102_3  

WONNACOTT, E., NEWPORT, E., & TANENHAUS, M. (2008) Acquiring and processing verb argument structure: Distributional learning in a miniature language☆. Cognitive Psychology, 56(3), 165-209. DOI: 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2007.04.002  

VOULOUMANOS, A. (2008) Fine-grained sensitivity to statistical information in adult word learning. Cognition, 107(2), 729-742. DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2007.08.007  

Galantucci, B. (2005) An Experimental Study of the Emergence of Human Communication Systems. Cognitive Science, 29(5), 737-767. DOI: 10.1207/s15516709cog0000_34  

Selten, R., & Warglien, M. (2007) The emergence of simple languages in an experimental coordination game. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(18), 7361-7366. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0702077104  

Selten R, & Warglien M. (2007) The emergence of simple languages in an experimental coordination game. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(18), 7361-6. PMID: 17449635  

  • August 16, 2010
  • 05:13 PM
  • 1,059 views

Experiments in communication pt 2: Human Iterated Learning

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo 2.0

In the last post, I discussed some of the literature into experimental communication, with the intention of then following it up by looking at recent experiments done at Edinburgh (and beyond). But as Hannah pipped me to the post, with a great overview of the wide range of experiments into language evolution, I’ll instead limit this . . . → Read More: Experiments in communication pt 2: Human Iterated Learning... Read more »

Kirby, S., Cornish, H., & Smith, K. (2008) Cumulative cultural evolution in the laboratory: An experimental approach to the origins of structure in human language. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(31), 10681-10686. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0707835105  

Cornish, H., Tamariz, M., & Kirby, S. (2009) Complex Adaptive Systems and the Origins of Adaptive Structure: What Experiments Can Tell Us. Language Learning, 187-205. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2009.00540.x  

  • September 27, 2009
  • 07:17 AM
  • 990 views

Broca’s area and the processing of hierarchically organised sequences pt.1

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

Ever since its discovery in 1861, Broca’s area (named after its discoverer, Paul Broca) has been inextricably linked with language (Grodzinsky and Santi, 2008). Found in the left hemisphere of the Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC), Broca’s region traditionally[1] comprises of Broadmann’s areas (BA) 44 and 45 (Hagoort, 2005). Despite being relegated in its status as the [...]... Read more »

Bahlmann J, Schubotz RI, & Friederici AD. (2008) Hierarchical artificial grammar processing engages Broca's area. NeuroImage, 42(2), 525-34. PMID: 18554927  

Musso M, Moro A, Glauche V, Rijntjes M, Reichenbach J, Büchel C, & Weiller C. (2003) Broca's area and the language instinct. Nature neuroscience, 6(7), 774-81. PMID: 12819784  

Hagoort, P. (2005) On Broca, brain, and binding: a new framework. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9(9), 416-423. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2005.07.004  

  • October 2, 2009
  • 03:40 PM
  • 979 views

Discerning the role of the arcuate fasciculus in speech processing pt.1

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

Originally identified by Reil (1809) and subsequently named by Burdach (1819), the arcuate fasciculus is a white-matter, neural pathway that intersects with both the lateral temporal cortex and frontal cortex via a “dorsal projection that arches around the Sylvain fissure.” (Rilling et al., 2008, pg. 426). Classical hypotheses saw this pathway as a critical component [...]... Read more »

CATANI, M., & MESULAM, M. (2008) The arcuate fasciculus and the disconnection theme in language and aphasia: History and current state. Cortex, 44(8), 953-961. DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2008.04.002  

Glasser, M., & Rilling, J. (2008) DTI Tractography of the Human Brain's Language Pathways. Cerebral Cortex, 18(11), 2471-2482. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn011  

  • August 29, 2009
  • 06:45 PM
  • 961 views

Language as a complex adaptive system

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

A prominent idea in linguistics is that humans have an array of specialised organs geared towards the production, reception and comprehension of language. For some features, particularly the physical capacity to produce and receive multiple vocalizations, there is ample evidence for specialisation: a descended larynx (Lieberman, 2003), thoracic breathing (MacLarnon & Hewitt, 1999), and several [...]... Read more »

Beckner, C; Blythe, R; Bybee, J; Christiansen, M.H.; Croft, W; Ellis, N.C.; Holland, J; Jinyun Ke; Larsen-Freeman, D; Schoenemann, T. (2009) Language is a complex adaptive system. Language Learning. info:/

WRAY, A., & GRACE, G. (2007) The consequences of talking to strangers: Evolutionary corollaries of socio-cultural influences on linguistic form. Lingua, 117(3), 543-578. DOI: 10.1016/j.lingua.2005.05.005  

  • October 5, 2009
  • 08:49 PM
  • 958 views

The arcuate fasciculus within the dual stream model pt.2

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

3.1 What is the dual stream model?
Given these separate anatomical accounts, attributing a function(s) to the arcuate is not clear cut, and any current account is far from the authoritative statement on the matter. Nonetheless, a vast majority of literature does place the arcuate as part of the dual stream model[1] of speech processing, although [...]... Read more »

Hickok, G. (2004) Dorsal and ventral streams: a framework for understanding aspects of the functional anatomy of language. Cognition, 92(1-2), 67-99. DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2003.10.011  

Glasser, M., & Rilling, J. (2008) DTI Tractography of the Human Brain's Language Pathways. Cerebral Cortex, 18(11), 2471-2482. DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhn011  

Schmahmann, J., Pandya, D., Wang, R., Dai, G., D'Arceuil, H., de Crespigny, A., & Wedeen, V. (2007) Association fibre pathways of the brain: parallel observations from diffusion spectrum imaging and autoradiography. Brain, 130(3), 630-653. DOI: 10.1093/brain/awl359  

  • September 28, 2009
  • 03:53 PM
  • 933 views

Broca’s area and the processing of hierarchically organised sequences pt.2

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

3. Neurological processing of hierarchically organised sequences in non-linguistic domains
A broader perspective sees grammar as just one of many hierarchically organised behaviours being processed in similar, prefrontal neurological regions (Greenfield, 1991; Givon, 1998). As Broca’s area is found to be functionally salient in grammatical processing, it is logical to assume that this is place to [...]... Read more »

Maess B, Koelsch S, Gunter TC, & Friederici AD. (2001) Musical syntax is processed in Broca's area: an MEG study. Nature neuroscience, 4(5), 540-5. PMID: 11319564  

Koechlin E, & Jubault T. (2006) Broca's area and the hierarchical organization of human behavior. Neuron, 50(6), 963-74. PMID: 16772176  

Stout D, Toth N, Schick K, & Chaminade T. (2008) Neural correlates of Early Stone Age toolmaking: technology, language and cognition in human evolution. Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 363(1499), 1939-49. PMID: 18292067  

  • September 21, 2010
  • 03:06 PM
  • 869 views

Genetic Anchoring, Tone and Stable Characteristics of Language

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo 2.0

In 2007, Dan Dediu and Bob Ladd published a paper claiming there was a non-spurious link between the non-derived alleles of ASPM and Microcephalin and tonal languages. The key idea emerging from this research is one where certain alleles may bias language acquisition or processing, subsequently shaping the development of a language within a population of . . . → Read More: Genetic Anchoring, Tone and Stable Characteristics of Language... Read more »

Dediu D. (2010) A Bayesian phylogenetic approach to estimating the stability of linguistic features and the genetic biasing of tone. Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society. PMID: 20810441  

Järvikivi J, Vainio M, & Aalto D. (2010) Real-time correlates of phonological quantity reveal unity of tonal and non-tonal languages. PloS one, 5(9). PMID: 20838615  

  • September 1, 2009
  • 10:58 AM
  • 863 views

Olfactory communication and mate choice

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

From the regulation and reproduction in bacteria colonies (Bassler, 2002) to complex smell and taste systems of humans (Van Toller & Dodd, 1988), the ability of sensing chemical stimuli, known as chemosensation, is believed to be the most basic and ubiquitous of senses (Bhutta, 2007). One strain of thought places chemosensation as merely an evolved [...]... Read more »

Bhutta, M. (2007) Sex and the nose: human pheromonal responses. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 100(6), 268-274. DOI: 10.1258/jrsm.100.6.268  

Havlicek, J., & Roberts, S. (2009) MHC-correlated mate choice in humans: A review. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34(4), 497-512. DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2008.10.007  

  • November 11, 2010
  • 07:35 PM
  • 858 views

Animal Signalling Theory 101 – The Handicap Principle

by Anne in A Replicated Typo 2.0

One of the most important concepts in animal signalling theory, proposed by Amotz Zahavi in a seminal 1975 paper and in later works (Zahavi 1977; Zahavi & Zahavi 1997), is the handicap principle. A general definition is that females have evolved mating preferences for males who display exaggerated ornaments or behaviours that are costly to maintain and develop, and that this cost ensures an ‘honest’ signal of male genetic quality.

As a student I found it quite difficult to identify a working definition for this important type of signal mainly due to the apparent ‘coining fest’ that has taken place over the years since Zahavi outlined his original idea in 1975. For this reason, I have decided to provide a brief outline of the terminological and conceptual differences that exist in relation to the handicap principle in an attempt to help anyone who might be struggling to navigate the literature.... Read more »

ZAHAVI, A. (1975) Mate selection?A selection for a handicap. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 53(1), 205-214. DOI: 10.1016/0022-5193(75)90111-3  

  • August 9, 2010
  • 03:30 PM
  • 846 views

Genetic Components and Cultural Differences: The social sensitivity hypothesis

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo 2.0

Cultural differences are often attributed to events far removed from genetics. The basis for this belief is often based on the assertion that if you take an individual, at birth, from one society and implant them in another, then they will generally grow up to become well-adjusted to their adopted culture. Whilst this is more than . . . → Read More: Genetic Components and Cultural Differences: The social sensitivity hypothesis... Read more »

Way, B., & Lieberman, M. (2010) Is there a genetic contribution to cultural differences? Collectivism, individualism and genetic markers of social sensitivity. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 5(2-3), 203-211. DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsq059  

  • October 6, 2009
  • 04:53 PM
  • 837 views

What conclusions can we draw from Neanderthal DNA pt.1

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

In recent times, genetic technology has progressed sufficiently to elucidate upon some of the questions normally preserved for archaeologists. One such question concerns the fate of a group of hominins that roamed Europe and East Asia for at least 250,000 years. During this time, this species adapted and endured some of the harshest environments on [...]... Read more »

Blum MG, & Rosenberg NA. (2007) Estimating the number of ancestral lineages using a maximum-likelihood method based on rejection sampling. Genetics, 176(3), 1741-57. PMID: 17435232  

Green, R., Malaspinas, A., Krause, J., Briggs, A., Johnson, P., Uhler, C., Meyer, M., Good, J., Maricic, T., & Stenzel, U. (2008) A Complete Neandertal Mitochondrial Genome Sequence Determined by High-Throughput Sequencing. Cell, 134(3), 416-426. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2008.06.021  

  • August 27, 2009
  • 02:30 PM
  • 823 views

Continuity or Discontinuity: are our minds purely shaped by natural selection?

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

The debate concerning the origin of our minds stems back to the diverging opinions of Darwin (1871) and Wallace (1870). When Charles Darwin first discussed the evolution of our seemingly unique cognitive faculties, he proposed that there is “no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties.” (Darwin, 1871, pg. 66). [...]... Read more »

Robinson, G., Fernald, R., & Clayton, D. (2008) Genes and Social Behavior. Science, 322(5903), 896-900. DOI: 10.1126/science.1159277  

Hawks, J., Wang, E., Cochran, G., Harpending, H., & Moyzis, R. (2007) Recent acceleration of human adaptive evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(52), 20753-20758. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0707650104  

Bolhuis, J., & Wynne, C. (2009) Can evolution explain how minds work?. Nature, 458(7240), 832-833. DOI: 10.1038/458832a  

John Skoyles. (2009) The paleoanthropological implications of neural plasticity. CogPrints. info:/

  • November 24, 2010
  • 10:11 AM
  • 818 views

From Natyural to Nacheruhl: Utterance Selection and Language Change

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo 2.0

Most of us should know by now that language changes. It’s why the 14th Century prose of Geoffrey Chaucer is nearly impenetrable to modern day speakers of English. It is also why Benjamin Franklin’s phonetically transcribed pronunciation of the English word natural sounded like natyural (phonetically [nætjuɹəl]) . . . → Read More: From Natyural to Nacheruhl: Utterance Selection and Language Change... Read more »

Blythe, R., & Croft, W. (2009) The Speech Community in Evolutionary Language Dynamics. Language Learning, 47-63. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2009.00535.x  

  • July 25, 2010
  • 09:56 PM
  • 785 views

Cultural Diversity, Economic Development and Societal Instability

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo 2.0

Most of you in the science blogosphere have probably come across Razib’s recent post on linguistic diversity and poverty. The basic argument being that linguistic homogeneity is good for economic development and general prosperity. I was quite happy to let the debate unfold and limit my stance on the subject to the following few sentences I . . . → Read More: Cultural Diversity, Economic Development and Societal Instability... Read more »

Nettle D, Grace JB, Choisy M, Cornell HV, Guégan JF, & Hochberg ME. (2007) Cultural diversity, economic development and societal instability. PloS one, 2(9). PMID: 17895970  

  • August 31, 2009
  • 03:17 PM
  • 765 views

Iterated Learning and Language Evolution

by Wintz in A Replicated Typo

If we accept that language is not only a conveyer of cultural information, but it is itself a socially learned and culturally transmitted system, then an individual’s linguistic knowledge is the result of observing the linguistic behaviour of others. This well attested process of language acquisition is often termed Iterated Learning, and it opens up [...]... Read more »

Swarup, S., & Gasser, L. (2009) The Iterated Classification Game: A New Model of the Cultural Transmission of Language. Adaptive Behavior, 17(3), 213-235. DOI: 10.1177/1059712309105818  

Dediu, D. (2009) Genetic biasing through cultural transmission: Do simple Bayesian models of language evolution generalise?. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 259(3), 552-561. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2009.04.004  

Kirby S, Dowman M, & Griffiths TL. (2007) Innateness and culture in the evolution of language. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 104(12), 5241-5. PMID: 17360393  

Reali F, & Griffiths TL. (2009) The evolution of frequency distributions: relating regularization to inductive biases through iterated learning. Cognition, 111(3), 317-28. PMID: 19327759  

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