Lecture 22, 23, and 24

Altruism

Behavior that benefits another at a personal cost, common among genetic relatives.

Relatedness

A measure of genetic similarity to another individual, influencing altruistic behavior.

Cooperation

Behavior where individuals work together for mutual benefit.

Mutualism

A form of cooperation among non-relatives that benefits both parties.

Reciprocal Altruism

A form of altruism involving a delay between acts of giving and receiving.

Net Cost

The immediate out-of-pocket expense to the altruist when assisting others.

Delayed Gratification

The ability to resist the temptation for an immediate reward and wait for a later reward.

Cost-Benefit Ratio

The benefit to the recipient must outweigh the cost to the altruist for altruism to evolve.

Reciprocity

The practice of exchanging things with others for mutual benefit.

Evolutionary Adaptation

A trait that has evolved to enhance survival and reproduction.

Shared Food Resources

Mutual sharing of food that is vital for survival in hunter-gatherer societies.

Psychological Adaptations

Innate mental mechanisms evolved to support reciprocal altruism.

Trust

Reliance on the integrity, strength, or ability of a person or concept.

Amygdala

A brain region involved in fear response and emotional processing.

Social Reward

The positive reinforcement received from cooperating with others.

Ventral Striatum (VSTR)

A brain area linked to the reward system, involved in processing cooperation rewards.

Trust Activation

Increased brain activity in regions that facilitate trust after cooperative interactions.

Anterior Insula

A brain region that processes negative emotions associated with unreciprocated cooperation.

Frontal Pole

A brain area associated with long-term relationship and benefit evaluation.

Prisoner's Dilemma

A scenario in game theory that illustrates how cooperation can be undermined.

Tit for Tat

A strategy in game theory where a player responds to cooperation with cooperation.

Syntax

The set of rules that governs the structure of sentences in a language.

Symbolic Communication

A form of communication that conveys abstract ideas rather than specific identities or states.

Gossip

Casual or informal conversation about other people, often to reinforce social networks.

Wernicke's Area

A region in the brain involved in language comprehension; damage leads to deficits in understanding language.

Broca's Area

A region in the brain responsible for speech production; damage leads to difficulties in articulation.

Arcuate Fasciculus

A bundle of nerve fibers that connects Wernicke's and Broca's areas, essential for language processing.

Transcortical Sensory Aphasia

Condition characterized by normal repetition but poor semantic comprehension due to specific brain damage.

FOXP2 Gene

A gene associated with language development; mutations can lead to speech and language difficulties.

Mirror Neuron System

Neurons that fire both when performing an action and when observing the same action.

Simulation Theory

The concept that we understand others by simulating their actions in our own minds.

Emotional Empathy

The capacity to share and understand the emotions of another person.

Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex

A brain region involved in theory of mind and understanding mental states of others.

Cognitive Empathy

The ability to infer the mental states and perspectives of others.

Anterior Insula and Empathy

Increased activation in this area correlates with higher levels of empathy.

Temporal Parietal Junction

A brain area involved in perspective-taking and understanding others' mental states.

Posterior Cingulate Cortex

Related to self-referential and social cognition, important in theory of mind.

Social Bonds

Connections formed between individuals that are reinforced through communication and cooperation.

Neural Substrates of Language

Brain structures specifically involved in processing and producing language.

Gray Matter Density

The concentration of neuronal cell bodies in a given area of the brain, influencing cognitive functions.

Lexical Semantic Processing

The understanding of the meanings of words and their relationships to each other.

Involuntary Vocalizations

Uncontrolled vocal signals that are not consciously produced, unlike human speech.

Language Evolution

The progression and development of language capabilities in the human species.

Hunting-Gathering Societies

Early human social structures that depended significantly on food sharing and cooperation.