Brain complexity led humans to evolve differently than chimps

Brain complexity led humans to evolve differently than chimps: "One gene in particular, CLOCK, behaved very differently in the human brain. Considered the master regulator of Circadian rhythm, CLOCK is disrupted in mood disorders like depression and bipolar syndrome."

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Frontiers | The role of prediction in social neuroscience | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Frontiers | The role of prediction in social neuroscience | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience: "These accounts of the mirror neuron system highlight the potential role of predictive mechanisms, particularly simulation, and inference with the predictive coding, and associative learning accounts, in social interaction. Consequently, these accounts could legitimately be extended to highlight the role of prediction, simulation and inference in other non-motor social cognitions associated with mirror neuron activity. Inference-based accounts of the mirror neuron system could potentially apply to some examples of work in social neuroscience showing that mirror neuron activity has been implicated in the distinction between self and other (Sinigaglia and Rizzolatti, 2011), mentalizing (De Lange et al., 2008; Centelles et al., 2011) and simulation of emotions (Bastiaansen et al., 2009). Even though the mirror neuron hypothesis provides a very appealing explanation for the processing of others' actions, there are other theories also related to predictive mechanisms that propose integrative frameworks for sensorimotor control and social interaction."

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Science of the Heart, Science of Coherence, Heart Rate Variability, Institute HeartMath

Science of the Heart, Science of Coherence, Heart Rate Variability, Institute HeartMath: Dr. Armour describes the brain and nervous system as a distributed parallel processing system consisting of separate but interacting groups of neuronal processing centers distributed throughout the body. The heart has its own intrinsic nervous system that operates and processes information independently of the brain or nervous system. This is what allows a heart transplant to work: Normally, the heart communicates with the brain via nerve fibers running through the vagus nerve and the spinal column. In a heart transplant, these nerve connections do not reconnect for an extended period of time, if at all; however, the transplanted heart is able to function in its new host through the capacity of its intact, intrinsic nervous system.