“Neutral theory” and the dynamics of the evolution of “Modern” human morphology

There is a widespread assumption, even among those who reject the Synthetic Theory of Evolution, that the form of “modern”Homo sapiens is somehow superior to that of archaicHomo sapiens (Tattersall 2000). Those who accept the general outlook of evolutionary biology also tend to assume that “modern” form emerged because it was selected for, which also implies that it was better than that which preceded it. However, after years of using craniofacial measurements to compare human populations, I finally came to realize that, with only a few exceptions, the dimensions measured have no relation to differences in adaptation (Brace 1989, 1996, 2000; Brace et al., 1993). Elsewhere the conclusion has been supported that what is shown by craniometrics is selectively neutral on the average (Relethford 2002). With the documentation that approximately 95% of the genome is not functional, molecular genetics has proved to be useful in documenting the length of time of separation of related human populations by investigating the differences that have accumulated in the neutral parts of the genome. Not surprisingly, the picture revealed by the study of genetic differences is very similar to the one revealed by the study of craniometric differences (Brace et al., 2001). For this reason, the logic behind the “neutral theory” in molecular genetics is very similar to that applied to what happens to morphological characteristics when selection ceases (Brace 1963; Kimura 1968). The difference is that random changes in the neutral part of the genome have no other consequences. However, random changes in the genes that produce specific aspects of morphology will be visible even when selection is no longer controlling the particular trait in question. From an assessment of what random changes in genes controlling morphological traits are likely to do, it follows that the most likely change will probably be a reduction in the trait in question, i.e. the Probable Mutation Effect will produce structural reduction. When survival in the temperate zone during the last glaciation dependend on “obligatory cooking”, one of the unintended consequences was a reduction in the selective pressures maintaining a Middle Pleistocene-sized dentition. The result was a gradual reduction in tooth size and a conversion, of a Neanderthal-sized face into one of “modern” dimensions. The manufacture and use of string for snares and nets similarly reduced the selective pressures maintaining post-cranial levels of robustness and muscularity. The reduction in the latter resulted in the emergence of moderm post-cranial robustness out of what had been a Neanderthal level,in situ wherever the technology can be documented and without any need for invasions and replacements.     

Comparative Study of the Absorption,Plasma Levels,and Urinary Excretion of the “New” and the “Old” Lanoxin

A comparative study was performed of the absorption, the plasma level at equilibrium, and the urinary excretion of digoxin using two types of Lanoxin tablets, those produced before and after the 1972 alteration of the tablet manufacture.After a single dose the absorption rate of the new tablets was about twice as great as the old, both in young subjects and in the elderly patients. There were no significant differences in the plasma levels of digoxin for the two tablets 15 hours after the last administration in patients on an equal maintenance dose. The urinary excretion of digoxin increased about 40% when the “old” Lanoxin was replaced by the “new.” In elderly patients a daily dose of 0·125 mg twice daily of the new tablets should be sufficient to reach the therapeutic range. Young people need a higher dosage. If the kidney function is reduced by as much as 50% the dose should be reduced.     

Genetics and the Origin of Human “Races”

In the last decades, the concept of human races was considered scientifically unfounded as it was not confirmed by genetic evidence. None of the racial classifications, which strongly differ in the number of races and their composition, reflects actual genetic similarity and genealogy of human populations inferred from variability of classical markers and DNA regions. Moreover, intercontinental (interracial) variability was shown to be far lower than that within populations: the former constitutes 7 to 10% of the total genetic variation and the latter about 85% of it. It is believed that the low level of differentiation of regional population groups contradicts their race status and suggests a recent origin of humans from one ancestral population. The results of studies of various genetic systems are in agreement with the latter conclusion rejecting the hypothesis of regional continuity. According to this hypothesis, the populations of continents regarded as large races have developed during long evolution from local types of archaic humans, in particular, Neanderthals. Phenotypic similarity of different, sometimes unrelated, populations united into one race is explained by strong selection since race-diagnostic traits characterize body surface and thus are directly subjected to the influence of environmental (primarily climatic) factors. It has been recently established that variability of the most important of these traits, body and hair pigmentation, is largely controlled by one locus (MC1R), which accounts for its high evolutionary lability. Other traits used for race identification are also likely to be labile and controlled by major genes. However, the fact that the currently existing race classifications are groundless does not mean that such classifications are impossible in principle. Commonly used argumentation (races do not exist because populations are not genetically separated) does not hold water. A polytypic species is characterized by genetic continuity of allopatric populations rather than the presence of narrow genetic boundaries between them. Borderlines between races are usually conventional and arbitrary. As to intergroup variation in humans, it is indeed low but comparable with that in a number of other species. There are no obstacles to the development of genetic systematics of human races.     

The discovery of aniline and the origin of the term “aniline dye”

An historical background is provided for the term, “aniline dye,” which is still widely used as a synonym for “synthetic dye.” The discovery of aniline and the role of Hofmann in clarifying it are described. The subsequent discovery of mauveine (mauve) by a student of Hofmann's, William Perkin, and his difficulties in transforming an academic synthesis into a commercial product also are discussed. The key role of Scottish dyers, the Pullars of Perth and Thomas Keith in London, in this technology transfer is described. The subsequent ascendancy of the German dyestuff industry over British manufacturers is noted.     

Biosociality,biocitizenship and the new regime of hope and despair: interpreting “Portraits of Hope” and the “Mehmet Case”

The concepts of biocitizenship and biosociality, in many ways developed as a reaction to the former critique of genetification and fears of a return of eugenics, have gained a stronghold in much of the current debates on the social effects of modern-day genetics. In contrast to claims of a return to eugenics, the literature on biocitizenship highlights the new choice-enhancing possibilities involved in present-day biomedicine, underlining the break with past forms of biopower. In this analysis, hope becomes a life-inducing and vitalizing force, opening new avenues of civic participation and engagement. Most critics of this analysis have attacked the claims to novelty attributed to these concepts, arguing that more traditional forms of biopower remain as important as ever. In contrast, we argue that the biocitizenship literature underestimates the radical nature of this break with the past, ending up with a too narrow and one-sided interpretation of the ramifications of the new discourse of hope. On the basis of two different case stories, the “Portraits of Hope” campaign from California, USA and the “Mehmet Case” from Norway, we indicate an alternative “darker” reading of the new discourse of hope, arguing that its driving force is not so much future possibilities as present despair.     

The history of the homology concept and the “Phylogenetisches Symposium”

The homology concept has had a long and varied history, starting out as a geometrical term in ancient Greece. Here we describe briefly how a typological use of homology to designate organs and body parts in the same position anatomically in different organisms was changed by Darwin’s theory of evolution into a phylogenetic concept. We try to indicate the diversity of opinions on how to define and test for homology that has prevailed historically, before the important books by Hennig (1950. Grundzüge einer Theorie der Phylogenetischen Systematik. Deutscher Zentralverlag, Berlin) and Remane (1952. Die Grundlagen des Natürlichen Systems, der Vergleichenden Anatomie und der Phylogenetik. Geest & Portig, Leipzig) brought more rigor into both the debate on homology and into the usage of the term homology among systematists. Homology as a theme has recurred repeatedly throughout the history of the “Phylogenetisches Symposium” and we give a very brief overview of the different aspects of homology that have been discussed at specific symposia over the last 48 years. We also honour the fact that the 2004 symposium was held in Jena by pointing to the roles played by biologists active in Jena, such as Ernst Haeckel and Carl Gegenbaur, in starting the development towards a homology concept concordant with an evolutionary world view. As historians of biology, we emphasize the importance of major treatises on homology and its history that may be little read by systematists active today, and have sometimes also received less attention by historians of biology than they deserve. Prominent among these are the works of Dietrich Starck, who also happened to be both a student, and later a benefactor, of systematics at Jena University.     

“Facilitation” and “Reversal of Response” of Neurones in the Cerebral Cortex

IN the course of experiments in which movements were elicited by direct electrical stimulation of the cerebral cortex, Graham-Brown^1–4 and Sherrington⁵ found that, after each train of stimuli, there were prolonged changes in the excitability of the cortex. They showed that the motor responses of forelimb muscles in primates, even though elicited by identical cortical stimuli, could be extremely variable. Two of the phenomena they described in detail (see also Lilly⁶) were “facilitation” (the increased motor response resulting from a second train of stimuli when it was applied within 20 s after the first train) and “reversal of response” (when repeated, identical stimulation of the same cortical point elicited flexion instead of extension, or vice versa).     

Hugo de Vries and the reception of the “mutation theory”

Conclusion De Vries' mutation theory has not stood the test of time. The supposed mutations of Oenothera were in reality complex recombination phenomena, ultimately explicable in Mendelian terms, while instances of large-scale mutations were found wanting in other species. By 1915 the mutation theory had begun to lose its grip on the biological community; by de Vries' death in 1935 it was almost completely abandoned. Yet, as we have seen, during the first decade of the present century it achieved an enormous popularity. As this paper has tried to suggest, one of the principal reasons for this was that de Vries' theory served as a banner around which a whole crowd of disaffected Darwinians or anti-Darwinians could rally. However, not all of those who favored de Vries did so for quite the same reasons. Underlying the multitude of views ran several common threads: a dissatisfaction with current Darwinian theory born out of misunderstanding natural selection, a general misunderstanding of the nature of species, and a prejudice against speculative, nontestable theories in biology.Supporters of de Vries were not the only opponents of Darwinism, nor was the mutation theory the only alternative to natural selection. In the early twentieth century a number of theories had been proposed to explain away the problems which Darwin had left unsolved. There was the idea of orthogenesis, championed by the American paleontologists Cope, Osborn and others; organic selection (or orthoplasy) was championed by M. M. Baldwin and C. Lloyd Morgan; there were the concepts of convergent evolution proposed by Hermann Friedmann, the theory of physiological selection by John George Romanes, and the concepts of reproductive divergence by H. M. Vernon. Virtually none of these men either accepted or were strong supporters of the de Vriesian theory, for each had his own particular ism to advocate as the major factor in evolution. The existence of a large number of such theories, each purporting to be the explanation, was characteristic of evolutionary theory at the turn of the century. It is to a large extent the emphasis on such fragmentary concepts that retarded development of the comprehensive theory of evolution which emerged in the 1920's and 1930's. For the historian, however, a study of these alternative theories is instructive in trying to understand the inherent difficulties which Dawwinian theory posed to biologists at the time. De Vries' mutation theory serves historically as a mirror to reflect the critical mood of a generation hostile to the theory of natural selection.It has often been claimed that it was impossible to understand the mechanism of natural selection until it could be placed in genetic and mathematical terms. It is certainly true that great strides have been made in population genetics and the treatment of evolutionary concepts with mathematical tools in the last forty years. But the very people who developed the genetical and mathematical approach to evolution were already convinced of the essential correctness of Darwinian theory before they started. Advances in an understanding of Mendelian heredity aided greatly in solving one important issue for evolutionists: the origin of variations. And the rigor with which selection acted could best be studied by observing changes in gene frequencies (calculated mathematically) over a number of generations. But as this paper has shown, two of the basic problems which biologists faced in evaluating Darwinian theory at the turn of the century-the nature of species, and the criteria of what constituted an acceptable explanation in biological science-could not be answered directly by mathematics. What mathematical and genetical theory did do was to help convince the skeptics of the validity of the Darwinian proposition.The change in explanatory criteria which many hailed as de Vries' most important contribution to evolutionary theory seems to have been part of a general emergence of twentieth-century biology from the domination of theorizers in the nineteenth. It also marked the emergence of America from the domination of biological, and particularly evolutionary, influence of Europeans. The change occurred in three areas: in the kinds of questions asked: testable versus non-testable; in the kind of data sought: quantitative versus qualitative; and in the kinds of theories proposed: analytical and reductive—the attempt to see complex processes in terms of simpler components-as opposed to synthetic and speculative. Although ultimately wrong in his idea, de Vries and his theories rode high on the wave of experimentalism which was the harbinger of a new era in evolutionary theory.Preparation of this paper has been aided by a grant from National Science Foundation (GS 1832).     

The “survivor effect” and the evolution of parthenogenesis and self-fertilization

Parthenogenetic or self-fertilizing species are often reduced to small numbers of survivors or colonists. These types of reproduction may therefore evolve because they eliminate problems of finding a mate. It is argued here that outbreeding populations which are often reduced to a few survivors will experience heavy offspring losses when population expansion occurs. This ‘survivor effect’ results from the production of many individuals homozygous for deleterious mutations (i.e. inbreeding depression). Parthenogenetic and selfing species do not experience a “survivor effect”. This effect together with mate-finding problems will tend to cause the evolution of parthenogenesis and selfing in weedy or colonizing species.     

The myth of “minima” and “maxima”, the species of Physalis in the Indian Subcontinent

The status of the names, Physalis minima L. and P. maxima Mill. (Solanaceae), and their alleged presence on the Indian subcontinent are discussed. The issues of nativity and identity of Linnaean Physalis minima are long-debated while the use of the name P. maxima Mill. and its report from India are recent. The available evidence indicates that the name “P. minima L.” is misapplied to two different elements, viz., P. angulata L. and P. lagascae Roem. & Schult. The name Physalis minima L. may be rejected as nomen confusum, for which the paper provides the primary information. As on today, it is submerged under the synonymy of P. angulata L. The correct name for the widely known P. minima is P. lagascae. The name “P. maxima Mill.” applied to the escape and naturalized weed in the Indian subcontinent and elsewhere is to be substituted by P. pruinosa L., a name misapplied to P. grisea (Waterf.) M. Martínez.     

Scale Dependency and the “Marginal” Value of Labor

Human Ecology - While there is a general assumption that labor has a positive effect on pastoral production, studies that have tried to quantify this relationship have found no effects. This is...     

The myth of “minima” and “maxima”, the species of Physalis in the Indian Subcontinent

The status of the names, Physalis minima L. and P. maxima Mill. (Solanaceae), and their alleged presence on the Indian subcontinent are discussed. The issues of nativity and identity of Linnaean Physalis minima are long-debated while the use of the name P. maxima Mill. and its report from India are recent. The available evidence indicates that the name "P. minima L." is misapplied to two different elements, viz., P. angulata L. and P. lagascae Roem. & Schult. The name Physalis minima L. may be rejected as nomen confusum, for which the paper provides the primary information. As on today, it is submerged under the synonymy of P. angulata L. The correct name for the widely known P. minima is P. lagascae. The name "P. maxima Mill." applied to the escape and naturalized weed in the Indian subcontinent and elsewhere is to be substituted by P. pruinosa L., a name misapplied to P. grisea (Waterf.) M. Martínez.     

Microbial diversity and the “lower-limit” problem of biodiversity

Science is now studying biodiversity on a massive scale. These studies are occurring not just at the scale of larger plants and animals, but also at the scale of minute entities such as bacteria and viruses. This expansion has led to the development of a specific sub-field of “microbial diversity”. In this paper, I investigate how microbial diversity faces two of the classical issues encountered by the concept of “biodiversity”: the issues of defining the units of biodiversity and of choosing a mathematical measure of diversity. I also show that the extension of the scope of biodiversity to microbial entities such as viruses and many other not-clearly-alive entities raises yet another foundational issue: that of defining a “lower-limit” of biodiversity.     

The “evolutionary argument” and the metaphilosophy of commonsense

Recently in these pages it has been argued that a relatively straightforward version of an old argument based on evolutionary biology and psychology can be employed to support the view that innate ideas are a naturalistic source of metaphysical knowledge. While sympathetic to the view that the “evolutionary argument” is pregnant with philosophical implications, I show in this paper how it needs to be developed and deployed in order to avoid serious philosophical difficulties and unnecessary complications. I sketch a revised version of the evolutionary argument, place it in a new context, and show that this version in this context is not vulnerable to the standard criticisms levelled against arguments of this general type. The philosophical import of this version of the argument lies not in any metaphysical conclusions it sanctions directly, but in the support it lends to the metaphilosophy of commonsense.     

The Origin and Dispersal of the “Lower” Hamamelidae

The “lower” Hamamelidae sensu Endress (1989a) comprises seven families: Trochodendraceae, Tetracentraceae, Cercidiphyllaceae, Myrothamnaceae, Eupteleaceae, Platanaceae and Hamamelidaceae. In the present paper, the systematic position, modern distribution pattern and fossil history of each family are analyzed, and the origin and dispersal of them are discussed according to the principle of the unity between the phylogeny and distribution of plants. The paper consists of three parts. The conclusions are as follows: 1. The center of distribution According to Takhtajan's (1986) regionalization of the world flora, there are 13 distribution types in the “lower” Hamamelidae (Table 1 ). Eastern Asiatic Region, with five families, 19 genera and 73 species, ranks the first based on the numbers of species, genera and families. Four families: Trochodendraceae, Tetracentraceae, Cercidiphyllaceae and Eupteleaceae which were considered as more primitive in the “lower” Hamamelidae and three genera: Disanthus, Exbucklandia and Rhodoleia, primitive in the Hamamelidaceae, are all found in Eastern Asiatic Region. In addition, the groups at different evolutionary stages in the “lower” Hamamelidae survive in this region. Indochinese Region, with two families, 15 genera and 32 species, ranks the second. It was shown that southern Eastern Asiatic region and northern Indochinese Region are the distribution center of the “lower”Hamamelidae based on further analysis (see Table 2). 2. The place and time of the origin The fossil records of the “lower” Hamamelidae are abundant in angiosperms. Nordenskioldia, supposed as the extinct ancestral group of Trochodendraceae and Tetracentraceae, was widely distributed during the latest Cretaceous and the early Tertiary in the Northern Hemisphere; Trochodendroides appeared during the Cretaceous in North America, former USSR and Japan; the ancestral group of Cercidiphyllaceae, the Joffrea-Nyssidum complex, also occurred during the Cretaceous in the middle and higher latitude area of the Norhern Hemisphere. In addition, the earliest fossil records of the Eupteleaceae, Platanaceae and Hamamelidaceae appeared in North America, Europe and Asia of the Northern Hemisphere respectively. Therefore, the Laurasian origin of the “lower” Hamamelidae is supported by fossil evidence. On the other hand, the fossil data are still insufficient to determine the place of the origin, especially because the fossil records are rather poor in Asia. For this reason, the analyses of birthplace should combine with the information from the distribution of the primitive groups or outgroup of the “lower” Hamamelidae. Based on the statistics of distribution types, there are four primitive families in the “lower” Hamamelidae and three primitive genera in the Hamamelidaceae in southern Eastern Asiatic Region and northern Indochinese Region. Platanus kerrii Gagnep. of the Platanaceae, distributed in northern Vietnam, is considered as one of the most primitive species which has survived in modern times in this family because of its pistillate inflorescence comprising 10-12 heads. The Magnoliaceae was selected as an outgroup in our other paper “A phylogenetic analysis of families in the Hamamelidae” (Lu et al. 1991 ). All its 13 genera and most species occur from East to Southeast Asia, but in North America only three genera are found. Takhtajan (1969) considered that it was plants of the Magnoliaceae that were dispersed from East Asia to North America. Because the primitive groups of the “lower” Hamamelidae and its outgroup almost occur in the same area, their ancestor also appeared most probably in this area according to the principle of common origin. It was inferred that the area from southern Eastern Asiatic Region to northern Indochinese Region is the birthplace of the “lower"” Hamamelidae. The differentiation of the “lower” Hamamelidae took place rather early in angiosperms. The origin of them may be traced at least back to the Barremian of the early Cretaceous according to pollen fossil records. From more unequivocal fossil evidence, Platanoid plants appeared during the late Albian of the early Cretaceous, and the Trochodendraceae, Tetracentraceae, Cercidiphyllaceae and Hamamelidaceae diverged from their ancestral groups respectively no later than the late Cretaceous (Fig. 6). 3. The causes for the formation of the modern distribution pattern The “lower” Hamamelidae is a. rather old group. It is one of the most abundant and widespread components of fossil floras in the Northern Hemisphere during the late Cretaceous-middle Tertiary, the interval, when the global temperature was warm, although the extant Trochodendraceae, Tetracentraceae, Cercidiphyllaceae and Eupteleaceae which are now confined to East Asia are monotypical or oligotypical families. This distribution pattern indicates that most plants became extinct in Europe, northern Asia and North America because of the climatic changes during the late Tertiary, and especially the Quaternary glaciation, but East Asia, usually called “plant refuge”during the glacial period, became the survival place of many plants. From the viewpoint of evolution, these four families might be “living fossil plants” preserved from the Tertiary. The distribution of Hamamelidaceae is disjunct, but the causes leading to this pattern are not the same in different genera. The disjunction among Europe, North America, Australia and southern Africa is due to the tectonic movements of the earth; , and that between southeastern Europe-northern West Asia and southeastern Asia is developed as a result of the Quaternary glaciation. Fothergilla found from Carolina to Alabama in the United States and Hamamelis disjunct between East Asia and North America were widely distributed during the Tertiary in the Northern Hemisphere (Hu & Chaney 1940). The formation of their distribution patterns is a synthetic process owing to the tectonic movements and the Quaternary glaciation. Parrotia and Parrotiopsis, endemic to Iran and the West Himalayas respectively, are very similar in morphology. They might have a common ancestor, and the latter is more primitive than the former. It seems that several groups in the Hamamelidaceae were dispersed from east to west in Eurasia. Of the five genera in the Southern Hemisphere, Dicoryphe and Trichocladus are Madagascarian and southern African, and Ostrearia, Neostrearia and Noahdendron occur in northeastern Australia. They are usually considered as rather isolated groups, but Hufford and Endress (1989) found that they are closely related. The African genera might be dispersed from Asia via India, Sri Lanka and Lemuria continent; the Australian Hamamelidaceae also from Asia, but via the islands distributed in the Pacific Ocean. The Myrothamnaceae, comprising 2 species distributed in Madagascar and southern Africa, is closely related to the Hamamelidaceae. Based on morphological analyses, an evolutionary series exists among Myrothamnus, Dicoryphe and Trichocladus in which the distribution patterns are the same, and Myrothamnus is more specialized than the two genera of the Hamamelidaceae. 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The “averaging fallacy” and the levels of selection

This paper compares two well-known arguments in the units of selection literature, one due to , the other due to . Both arguments concern the legitimacy of averaging fitness values across contexts and making inferences about the level of selection on that basis. The first three sections of the paper shows that the two arguments are incompatible if taken at face value, their apparent similarity notwithstanding. If we accept Sober and Lewontin's criterion for when averaging genic fitnesses across diploid genotypes is illegitmate, we cannot accept Sober and Wilson's criterion for when averaging individual fitnesses across groups is illegitimate, and vice versa. The final section suggests a possible way of reconciling the two arguments, by invoking an ambiguity in the concept of genic selection.     

Histochemical and chemical studies on pre- and postnatal development of the different systems of “short” and “long” adrenergic neurons in peripheral organs of the rat

Summary The adrenergic innervation in the submaxillary gland, heart, kidney, small intestine, and accessory male genital organs and the development of the adrenal chromaffin cells and the sympathetic ganglia were studied in the rat from 15 days post coitum to 16 days post partum using the fluorescence histochemical method of Falck and Hillarp. The postnatal development of the noradrenaline concentrations in the heart and vas deferens was followed by fluorometric determinations.At about 15 days post coitum, the anlagen of the sympathetic chains were well visible in the form of two dorsal segmented columns of small branching sympathicoblasts exhibiting an intense catecholamine fluorescence. In the midline, ventrally to these two anlagen, another column of sympathicoblasts developed; this seemed to give rise to the prevertebral ganglia and to the short adrenergic neurons supplying the internal genital organs. At the level of the adrenal anlagen, small intensely fluorescent chromaffin cells were collected in two bilateral groups which became enclosed by adreno-cortical cells. This enclosure was, however, not complete even at two weeks post partum.Bundles of growing sympathetic nerves were visible in the periphery of the various organs studied at 19–21 days post coitum. A terminal innervation of the organs suggestive of a functional transmitter mechanism did not start to establish until at or immediately after birth. The final pattern of innervation was usually reached at about one week post partum, and the following development proceeded largely in the form of a quantitative increase in the number of nerves participating in the innervation apparatus. The adult level of noradrenaline in the heart and vas deferens was reached three to five weeks after birth. The small intestine was an exception in that the final pattern of innervation in the wall was attained immediately after birth.There was no overt difference in the rate of development of the terminal sympathetic innervation in organs supplied by short adrenergic neurons (accessory male genital organs) compared to the innervation of the submaxillary gland, heart and kidney, which receive classical long adrenergic neurons.The work was supported by a grant from the Association for the Aid of Crippled Children, New York, and was carried out within a research organization sponsored by the Swedish Medical Research Council (grants No. B71-14X-56-07A and B71-14X-712-06A).     

The physical basis of alpha waves in the electroencephalogram and the origin of the “Berger effect”

Synchronised activity, differing in phase in different populations of neurons, plays an important role in existing theories on the function of brain oscillations (e.g., temporal correlation hypothesis). A prerequisite for this synchronisation is that stimuli are capable of affecting (resetting) the phase of brain oscillations. Such a change in the phase of brain waves is also assumed to underlie the Berger effect: when observers open their eyes, the amplitude of EEG oscillations in the alpha band (8–13 Hz) decreases significantly. This finding is usually thought to involve a desynchronisation of activity in different neurons. For functional interpretations of brain oscillations in the visual system, it therefore seems to be crucial to find out whether or not the phase of brain oscillations can be affected by visual stimuli. To answer this question, we investigated whether alpha waves are generated by a linear or a nonlinear mechanism. If the mechanism is linear – in contrast to nonlinear ones – phases cannot be reset by a stimulus. It is shown that alpha-wave activity in the EEG comprises both linear and nonlinear components. The generation of alpha waves basically is a linear process and flash-evoked potentials are superimposed on ongoing alpha waves without resetting their phase. One nonlinear component is due to light adaptation, which contributes to the Berger effect. The results call into question theories about brain-wave function based on temporal correlation or event-related desynchronisation.Electronic Supplementary Material: Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Behaviour and the concept of “Heritability” axioms of an ethological refutation

This paper discusses the widespread use of heritability calculations in recent behaviour research including behaviour genetics. In the sequel, a radical criticism concerning the basic axioms of the underlying, more general concept itself is presented. The starting point for testing the proclaimed universal validity of this concept stems from a fictitious yet realistic example taken from learning research. The theoretical result, based on the application of the conventional reasoning in this field, states that developmental processes — and learning is only one specific case out of an immense number of similar behavioural mechanisms — can neither be adequately described nor causally explained with sufficient reliability within the context of the heredity paradigm. On the contrary, an inherent inconsistency of the concept itself when applied to behaviour processes is demonstrated. Finally, a conceptual alternative involving a systems-theoretical approach to the problem is presented: In such a perspective it is the concept of cognition which represents the adequate explanatory theorem - a theorem in which quantitative processing of information from the environment is clearly revealed to belong to a subordinate level of living organization.     

The anthropological genetics of the Black Caribs “Garifuna” of Central America and the Caribbean

The Black Caribs “Garifuna” originated on St. Vincent Island, in the West Indies, as a cultural and biological amalgam between Amerindians “Arawak and Island Caribs” and West Africans. A total of 2,026 of the Black Caribs were deported by the British in 1797 to the Bay Islands, from which they further emigrated to Honduras, Central America. The Garifuna provide an example of evolutionary success by a colonizing population with one of the highest observed fertility levels “a mean of 10.9 children per woman 45 years of age or older” in the world. The Central American Black Carib population has increased from fewer than 2,000 persons in 1800 to approximately 70,000 at present. It has been estimated that an additional 20,000 Black Caribs have immigrated to England, the United States, and other parts of the world. This review focuses upon the observed genetic variation and population structure of the Black Caribs. The population structure is characterized by a series of fissions and fusions of the gene pool. Fusion and genetic hybridization play a major role in the early development of this society. Subdivision of the hybrid gene pool occurs as the Black Caribs colonize the coast of Central America, rapidly expanding their domain to an area over 1,000 kilometers of the coast. Blood genetic analyses reveal that the St. Vincent Black Caribs' gene pool contains the highest proportion of Amerindian genes “approximately 50%”, while the coastal communities exhibit a more African ancestry “up to 80%”. This apparent discrepancy can be explained in one of three ways: “1” the original Black Caribs of St. Vincent had a higher proportion of Amerindian genes. However, gene flow and incorporation of African populations residing along the coast into the Black Carib gene pool resulted in more African coastal groups; “2” those Black Caribs displaying African phenotypes were selectively deported; “3” that natural selection, in a malarial environment, operated in favor of those individuals with the more African phenotypes and resistance to Plasmodium falciparum.