Human Senescence

Abstract

Much research on the biology of senescence is on cell-lines, nematodes or fruit flies, that are only of peripheral relevance to the problems encountered in humans. Human Senescence is a 2003 text which reviews the evolutionary biology of human senescence and life span, and the evolutionarily recent development of late-life survival. It examines how human patterns of and variability in growth and development have altered later life survival probabilities and competencies, and how survival during mid-life contributes to senescent dysfunction and alteration. Discussing possibilities of further extending human life span, it gives a better understanding of how humans came to senesce as slowly as we do over our lifespan. Bringing together gerontological, anthropological and biocultural research, it explores human variation in chronic disease, senescence and life span as outcomes of early life adaptation and the success of humankind's sociocultural evolution. It is a benchmark publication for all interested in how and why we age.

The significance of the subplate for evolution and developmental plasticity of the human brain

“…This enabled the evolution of new types of modular, areal and connectional organization of the human cerebral cortex, subserving cognition and language. Our proposal is also in agreement with the reserve capacity hypothesis (Crews, 2003; Larke and Crews, 2006) and the reproductive fitness hypothesis (Bogin, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2009), because the increased reserve capacity of human species (in comparison to apes) clearly enables the longer development of the human brain, with significant consequences for learning and socialization as well as plasticity and recovery after brain lesions.…”

“…Another part of the solution seems to be represented by profound changes in the human life-history (Bogin, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2009; Hawkes et al, 1998; Kaplan et al, 2000; Crews, 2003; Leigh, 2004; Gurven and Walker, 2006; Walker et al, 2006). There are several hypotheses on the evolution of human life-history, such as the grandmother hypothesis (Hawkes et al, 1998), the embodied capital hypothesis (Kaplan et al, 2000), the reserve capacity hypothesis (Crews, 2003; Larke and Crews, 2006), and the reproductive fitness hypothesis (Bogin, 1997, 1999, 2009).…”

“…There are several hypotheses on the evolution of human life-history, such as the grandmother hypothesis (Hawkes et al, 1998), the embodied capital hypothesis (Kaplan et al, 2000), the reserve capacity hypothesis (Crews, 2003; Larke and Crews, 2006), and the reproductive fitness hypothesis (Bogin, 1997, 1999, 2009). Briefly, primates and other social mammals have three postnatal life history stages: infancy, juvenile and adult (Pereira and Fairbanks, 1993).…”

“…Another important evolutionary novelty in human life-history is that human food provisioning and care to children and their mothers goes beyond the cooperative breeding of other mammals—humans use biological relationships and also marriage, systems of economic exchange, political power structure, and gender-role construction (Bogin, 2009). In other words, human life-history is culturally patterned (Bogin, 2001, 2009; Crews, 2003). Such investments of energy and care from prenatal to early adult life stages build a greater level of reserve capacity than found in any other primate (Crews, 2003; Larke and Crews, 2006; Bogin, 2009).…”

“…In other words, human life-history is culturally patterned (Bogin, 2001, 2009; Crews, 2003). Such investments of energy and care from prenatal to early adult life stages build a greater level of reserve capacity than found in any other primate (Crews, 2003; Larke and Crews, 2006; Bogin, 2009). …”