Oxygen and the Spark of Human Brain Evolution: a Complex Systems Account

How to cite: Luppi, A.; Rosas, F.; Noonan, M.; Mediano, P.; Kringelbach, M.; Carhart-Harris, R.; Stamatakis, E.; Vernon, A.; Turkheimer, F. Oxygen and the Spark of Human Brain Evolution: a Complex Systems Account. Preprints.org 2022, 2022060002. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202206.0002.v1 Luppi, A.; Rosas, F.; Noonan, M.; Mediano, P.; Kringelbach, M.; Carhart-Harris, R.; Stamatakis, E.; Vernon, A.; Turkheimer, F. Oxygen and the Spark of Human Brain Evolution: a Complex Systems Account. Preprints.org 2022, 2022060002. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202206.0002.v1

Cite as:

Luppi, A.; Rosas, F.; Noonan, M.; Mediano, P.; Kringelbach, M.; Carhart-Harris, R.; Stamatakis, E.; Vernon, A.; Turkheimer, F. Oxygen and the Spark of Human Brain Evolution: a Complex Systems Account. Preprints.org 2022, 2022060002. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202206.0002.v1 Luppi, A.; Rosas, F.; Noonan, M.; Mediano, P.; Kringelbach, M.; Carhart-Harris, R.; Stamatakis, E.; Vernon, A.; Turkheimer, F. Oxygen and the Spark of Human Brain Evolution: a Complex Systems Account. Preprints.org 2022, 2022060002. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202206.0002.v1

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

Human brain evolution; complex systems theory

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Neuroscience and Neurology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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