科研之友
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摘要
The extent to which cognitive and neural traits are heritable is a critical question for scientists interested in the evolution of cognition. Although heritability of these traits is often assumed, it is not often explicitly investigated. We outline existing research investigating the relative influence of genes and environment on cognitive traits, and advocate for an increased emphasis on investigating trait heritability in order to better understand how cognitive traits can respond to selection.A critical question in the study of the evolution of cognition and the brain concerns the extent to which variation in cognitive processes and associated neural mechanisms is adaptive and shaped by natural selection. In order to be available to selection, cognitive traits and their neural architecture must show heritable variation within a population, yet heritability of cognitive and neural traits is not often investigated in the field of behavioral ecology. In this commentary, we outline existing research pertaining to the relative influences of genes and environment in cognitive and underlying neural trait variation, as well as what is known of their heritable genetic architecture by focusing on several cognitive traits that have received much attention in behavioral ecology. It is important to demonstrate that cognitive traits can respond to selection, and we advocate for an increased emphasis on investigating trait heritability for enhancing our understanding of the ecological, genetic and neurobiological mechanisms that have shaped interspecific and intraspecific variation in cognitive traits.
- 出版日期2015-12
