Human uniqueness/Bibliography

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• Pat Shipman (2010). "The Animal Connection and Human Evolution". Current Anthropology 51: 519–538. DOI:10.1086/653816. Research Blogging. ^[e]

Posits that the relationship between humans and other animals played a key role in establishing key traits of our species: "tool making, symbolic behavior and language, and the domestication of plants and animals."

• Hauser MD (2009). "The possibility of impossible cultures.". Nature 460 (7252): 190-6. DOI:10.1038/460190a. PMID 19587759. Research Blogging.

• Okada, D. (2008), "Human uniqueness-self-interest and social cooperation", Journal of Theoretical Biology 253: 261, DOI:10.1016/j.jtbi.2008.02.041
• Sherwood, C.C.; Subiaul, F.; Zawidzki, T. (2008). "A natural history of the human mind: tracing evolutionary changes in brain and cognition". Journal of Anatomy 212 (4): 426-454. DOI:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.00868.x. Research Blogging.

• Toro, R.; Perron, M.; Pike, B.; Richer, L.; Veillette, S.; Pausova, Z.; Paus, T. (2008). "Brain Size and Folding of the Human Cerebral Cortex". Cereb Cortex: in press. DOI:10.1093/cercor/bhm261. Research Blogging.

• Oelschläger, H.H. (2008). "The dolphin brain-A challenge for synthetic neurobiology". Brain Res Bull 75 (2-4): 450-9. DOI:10.1016/j.brainresbull.2007.10.051. Research Blogging.

• Ribeiro, S.; A. Loula & I. De Araujo et al. (2007), "Symbols are not uniquely human", Biosystems 90 (1): 263–272, DOI:10.1016/j.biosystems.2006.09.030 ^[e]
• Hof, P.R. & E. Van Der Gucht (2007), "Structure of the cerebral cortex of the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae (Cetacea, Mysticeti, …", Anat Rec (Hoboken) 290 (1): 1–31, DOI:10.1002/ar.a.20407

Reports on spindle neurons (also known as "von Economo neurons") in humpback whale, thereby showing that this cell type is not unique to great apes.

• Wood, Justin N. (2007), "The uniquely human capacity to throw evolved from a non-throwing primate: an evolutionary dissociation between action and perception", Biology Letters 3: 360, DOI:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0107
• Tattersall I (2006). "Karl Pribram, The James Arthur lectures, and what makes us human". J Biomed Discov Collab 1: 13. DOI:10.1186/1747-5333-1-13. PMID 17134485. PMC PMC1698933. Research Blogging. ^[e]

• Goffinet AM (2006). "What makes us human? A biased view from the perspective of comparative embryology and mouse genetics". J Biomed Discov Collab 1: 16. DOI:10.1186/1747-5333-1-16. PMID 17132178. PMC PMC1769396. Research Blogging. ^[e]

• Watson, K.K.; T.K. Jones & J.M. Allman (2006), "Dendritic architecture of the von Economo neurons", Neuroscience 141 (3): 1107–12, DOI:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2006.04.084

One of several papers claiming (without a comparative study) that von Economo neurons are unique to humans and great apes. However, studies in cetaceans and elephants have found this kind of neurons, too.

• Marino, L. (2006), "Absolute brain size: Did we throw the baby out with the bathwater?", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103 (37): 13563-13564, DOI:10.1073/pnas.0606337103 ^[e]
• Sherwood, C.C.; C.D. Stimpson & M.A. Raghanti et al. (2006), "Evolution of increased glia-neuron ratios in the human frontal cortex", Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103 (37): 13606–13611, DOI:10.1073/pnas.0605843103 ^[e]

Provides comparative histological data on the glia-neuron ratios in prefrontal area 9L of the neocortex in 18 anthropoid primate species and on the allometric scaling of this ratio with brain size, concluding that the value in humans is well within the range allometrically expected for an anthropoid primate with our brain size.

• Voight, B.F.; S. Kudaravalli & X. Wen et al. (2006), "A Map of Recent Positive Selection in the Human Genome", PLoS Biol 4 (3): e72, DOI:10.1371/journal.pbio.0040072
• Sikela, J.M. (2006). "The jewels of our genome: the search for the genomic changes underlying the evolutionarily unique capacities of the human brain". PLoS Genet 2 (5): e80. DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen.0020080. Research Blogging.

• Goffinet, André M. (2006), Journal of Biomedical Discovery and Collaboration 1: 16, DOI:10.1186/1747-5333-1-16 ^[e]
• Arbiza, L.; Dopazo, J.; Dopazo, H. (2006). "Positive selection, relaxation, and acceleration in the evolution of the human and chimp genome". PLoS Comput Biol 2 (4): e38. DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0020038. Research Blogging.

• Coleman, J.D. (2006). “Design Features of Language”, Brown, K.: Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics, 471-475. DOI:10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/04743-X. 
• Fitch, W.T. (2006). "The biology and evolution of music: A comparative perspective". Cognition 100 (1): 173-215. DOI:10.1016/j.cognition.2005.11.009. Research Blogging.

• Jackendoff, R.; Pinker, S. (2005). "The nature of the language faculty and its implications for evolution of language (Reply to Fitch, Hauser, and Chomsky)". Cognition 97 (2): 211-225. DOI:10.1016/j.cognition.2005.04.006. Research Blogging.

• Fitch, W.T.; Hauser, M.D.; Chomsky, N. (2005). "The evolution of the language faculty: Clarifications and implications". Cognition 97 (2): 179-210. DOI:10.1016/j.cognition.2005.02.005. Research Blogging.

• Pinker, S.; Jackendoff, R. (2005). "The faculty of language: what's special about it?". Cognition 95 (2): 201-236. DOI:10.1016/j.cognition.2004.08.004. Research Blogging.

• Craig, A.D. (2004). "Human feelings: why are some more aware than others?". Trends in Cognitive Sciences 8 (6): 239-241. DOI:10.1016/j.tics.2004.04.004. Research Blogging.

• Critchley, H.D.; Wiens, S.; Rotshtein, P.; Öhman, A.; Dolan, R.J. (2004). "Neural systems supporting interoceptive awareness". Nature Neuroscience 7: 189-195. DOI:10.1038/nn1176. Research Blogging.

• Carroll, S.B. (2003). "Genetics and the making of Homo sapiens". Nature 422 (6934): 849-57. DOI:10.1038/nature01495. Research Blogging.

• Hauser, M.D.; Chomsky, N.; Fitch, W. (2002). "The Faculty of Language: What Is It, Who Has It, and How Did It Evolve?". Science 298 (5598): 1569. DOI:10.1126/science.298.5598.1569. Research Blogging.

• Kobayashi, H.; Kohshima, S. (2001). "Unique morphology of the human eye and its adaptive meaning: comparative studies on external morphology of the primate eye". Journal of Human Evolution 40 (5): 419-435. DOI:10.1006/jhev.2001.0468. Research Blogging.

• Fitch, W.T. (2000). "The evolution of speech: a comparative review". Trends in Cognitive Sciences 4 (7): 258-267. DOI:10.1016/S1364-6613(00)01494-7. Research Blogging.

• Nimchinsky, Esther A.; Emmanuel Gilissen & John M. Allman et al. (1999), "A neuronal morphologic type unique to humans and great apes", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 96 (9): 5268–73, DOI:10.1073/pnas.96.9.5268

Posits that spindle neurons (also known as "von Economo neurons") may be unique to great apes.

• Rilling, J.K. & T.R. Insel (1999), "The primate neocortex in comparative perspective using magnetic resonance imaging", Journal of Human Evolution 37 (2): 191–223, DOI:10.1006/jhev.1999.0313 ^[e]
• Marino L (1998). "A comparison of encephalization between odontocete cetaceans and anthropoid primates". Brain Behav Evol 51 (4): 230-8. DOI:10.1159/000006540. PMID 9553695. Research Blogging. ^[e]

Based on large compilations of previously published cross-species data on brain weight (or skull volume for odontocetes) and body weight, the article concludes "that the encephalization level of Homo sapiens is still extraordinary relative to that of nonhuman species. Nevertheless, a subset of delphinid odontocetes are significantly more highly encephalized than the most highly encephalized anthropoid primates and narrow the gap in encephalization between humans and nonhumans substantially. These findings may have implications for comparative models of the relative importance of brain size versus brain organization for the evolution of intelligence."

• Hockett, C.F.; Altmann, S.A. (1968). "A note on design features". Animal Communication: Techniques of Study and Results of Research: 61-72.

• Hockett, C.F. (1960). "The origin of speech". Scientific American 203: 88-96.