Collaborative Research: How Do Social and Habitat Complexities Shape Brain Structure?

合作研究：社会和栖息地的复杂性如何塑造大脑结构？

• 批准号: 0217915
• 负责人: Johann Hofmann
• 金额: $ 16.85万
• 依托单位: Harvard University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-01 至 2005-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0217915&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; How; Do; Social

Caroly A. Shumway1, Hans A. Hofmann21New England Aquarium; 2Harvard UniversityCollaborative Research: How Do Social and Habitat Complexities Shape Brain Structure?The human brain is larger than that of any other primate species. As humans evolved, what environmental or social forces caused our own brain expansion? If an animal lives in an extended family group, does the need to identify individual members within the group lead to a better ability to recognize faces, compared with species that are more solitary? Since most vertebrate groups offer only a limited number of species for comparison, these questions will be studied in the species-rich African cichlid fishes that live in diverse habitats and show an astonishing range of social behaviors. The principal investigators have found that complex behaviors occur more often in complex rock environments than in simpler sand habitats. Because of the large numbers of closely related but behaviorally diverse species in each lake (which makes cichlids the "gold standard" for comparative studies exploring how brain and behavior evolved), one factor (e.g., social behavior) can be kept constant in a comparative study while varying the other (e.g., habitat). In this way it has been possible to show that both factors - environment and social - are important evolutionary forces. In the present study brain structures and cognitive abilities (such as individual recognition and spatial memory) of species differing in social behavior or habitat will be compared. Ultimately, this work will shed light on how environmental and social factors like monogamy and familial groups shape brain structure and function. The complex behaviors being studied, such as spatial memory and recognition, are of direct relevance to humans.

Caroly A. Shumway1、Hans A. Hofmann21 新英格兰水族馆； 2哈佛大学合作研究：社会和栖息地的复杂性如何塑造大脑结构？人类的大脑比任何其他灵长类动物的大脑都要大。随着人类的进化，哪些环境或社会力量导致了我们大脑的扩张？如果动物生活在一个大家庭群体中，与更孤独的物种相比，识别群体内个体成员的需要是否会导致更好的识别面孔的能力？由于大多数脊椎动物群体只提供有限数量的物种进行比较，因此这些问题将在物种丰富的非洲丽鱼科鱼类中进行研究，这些鱼类生活在不同的栖息地并表现出惊人的社会行为范围。主要研究人员发现，复杂的行为在复杂的岩石环境中比在简单的沙地栖息地中更常见。由于每个湖泊中都有大量密切相关但行为多样化的物种（这使得慈鲷成为探索大脑和行为如何进化的比较研究的“黄金标准”），因此在比较研究中可以保持一个因素（例如社会行为）不变，同时改变另一个因素（例如栖息地）。 通过这种方式，可以证明环境和社会这两个因素都是重要的进化力量。 在本研究中，将比较社会行为或栖息地不同的物种的大脑结构和认知能力（例如个体识别和空间记忆）。最终，这项工作将揭示一夫一妻制和家庭群体等环境和社会因素如何塑造大脑结构和功能。正在研究的复杂行为，例如空间记忆和识别，与人类直接相关。