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A BINGO MOMENT. “The human version of the gene is functionally identical in all normal populations worldwide, but differs significantly from our nearest animal relatives, the chimpanzees.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this second and last section on the evolution of language. Language enables conscious thought and the development of abstract concepts which have advanced the human mind enormously. As such, a sophisticated language capacity has been critical for our evolution. But since communication is a fundamental aspect of every living thing, I look forward to when we can speak worm and learn about their concepts. https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

AUTHOR. “William Tecumseh Sherman Fitch III got a macaque monkey named Emiliano to utter various sounds while subject to X-ray video recording. In a simulation, "Emiliano" said "Will you marry me?" in a recognizable manner, revealing that the anatomy of monkeys does not limit them from producing complex speech.” https://lnkd.in/dxk6d7Er View in LinkedIn

INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES. “In summary, the combination of a well-established interdisciplinary field of speech science and a rich comparative database has provided a firm foundation for work on the evolution of speech, and new neural and molecular data have made this one of the most solid and exciting domains of research on the evolution of language.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

PROMISING FUTURE. “I conclude that comparative molecular genetics, combined with cognitive and neuroscientific investigations, offer great promise to ground discussions of language evolution at the level of specific changes in DNA during human evolution.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

THE SIZE QUESTION. “Although a direct link between brain size and language is questionable (several animal species, including dolphins, have larger brains than humans but lack language), the brain size increases that occurred during human phylogeny certainly constitute a crucial aspect of our biology.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

CANDIDATE GENES. “However, a number of candidate genes can already be identified due to their involvement in various language disorders. Another fascinating gene, involved in brain size regulation, is called ASPM; null mutations in humans lead to a 70% decrease in brain volume.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

LARGE SEARCH SPACE. “The combination of luck and immense research effort that went into uncovering FOXP2 is also sobering: if there are 100 such genes we are a very long way off from isolating them all.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

HIGH BAR. “If FOXP2 is any example, surprisingly small genotypic changes may lead to major changes at the phenotypic level, which could make the search for relevant genes quite difficult.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn

MULTI-GENETIC. “However, it is obvious that changes in many other genes were necessary for the shaping of the language faculty during human evolution, and at present we can only guess at how many there might be.” https://lnkd.in/dTkGwcGB View in LinkedIn