Working Memory, Neuroanatomy, and Archaeology

Welshon, Rex

doi:10.1086/650480

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Today working memory is arguably the most researched and well-understood model in cognitive neuroscience. As of 2007, more than 15,000 articles had been published containing the term “working memory” [ 31 ]. This much research is bound to engender disagreements and controversy but is also likely to make significant progress.…”

Section: The Working Memory Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Implications of the Working Memory Model for the Evolution of Modern Cognition

Wynn

Coolidge

2011

International Journal of Evolutionary Biology

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What distinguishes the cognition of biologically modern humans from that of more archaic populations such as Neandertals? The norm in paleoanthropology has been to emphasize the role of language and symbolism. But the modern mind is more than just an archaic mind enhanced by symbol use. It also possesses an important problem solving and planning component. In cognitive neuroscience these advanced planning abilities have been extensively investigated through a formal model known as working memory. The working memory model is now well-enough established to provide a powerful lens through which paleoanthropologists can view the fossil and archaeological records. The challenge is methodological. The following essay reviews the controversial hypothesis that a recent enhancement of working memory capacity was the final piece in the evolution of modern cognition.

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Section: The Working Memory Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Implications of the Working Memory Model for the Evolution of Modern Cognition

Wynn

Coolidge

2011

International Journal of Evolutionary Biology

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“…Many researchers, at least in the field of archeology, tend to agree with the idea of enhanced WM (e.g., Aboitiz et al., 2010 ; Haidle, 2010 ; Lombard and Wadley, 2016 ; Nowell, 2010 ; Putt, 2016 , for a review of criticisms, see Welshon, 2010 ), though there seems to be a disagreement on its time. Almost all, however, suggest a time in the Pleistocene about or after the appearance of the genus Homo ( Aboitiz et al., 2010 ; Coolidge and Wynn, 2005 ; Haidle, 2010 ; Putt, 2016 ).…”

Section: Hypotheses Concerning the Capacitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Up to the magical number seven: An evolutionary perspective on the capacity of short term memory

Manoochehri¹

2021

Heliyon

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Working memory and its components are among the most determinant factors in human cognition. However, in spite of their critical importance, many aspects of their evolution remain underinvestigated. The present study is devoted to reviewing the literature of memory studies from an evolutionary, comparative perspective, focusing particularly on short term memory capacity. The findings suggest the limited capacity to be the common attribute of different species of birds and mammals. Moreover, the results imply an increasing trend of capacity from our non-human ancestors to modern humans. The present evidence shows that non-human mammals and birds, regardless of their limitations, are capable of performing memory strategies, although there seem to be some differences between their ability and that of humans in terms of flexibility and efficiency. These findings have several implications relevant to the psychology of memory and cognition, and are likely to explain differences between higher cognitive abilities of humans and non-humans. The adaptive benefits of the limited capacity and the reasons for the growing trend found in the present study are broadly discussed.

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“…For which both fine muscular coordination (the effector subsystem) and a 'spatial-praxic' subsystem to permit visual-spatial mental manipulation would have been necessary(Welshon 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

The origins of causal cognition in early hominins

Stuart–Fox

2014

Biol Philos

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Studies of primate cognition have conclusively shown that humans and apes share a range of basic cognitive abilities. As a corollary, these same studies have also focussed attention on what makes humans unique, and on when and how specifically human cognitive skills evolved. There is widespread agreement that a major distinguishing feature of the human mind is its capacity for causal reasoning. This paper argues that causal cognition originated with the use made of indirect natural signs by early hominins forced to adapt to variable late Miocene and early Pliocene environments; that early hominins evolved an innate tendency to search for such signs and infer their causes; that causal inference required the existence of incipient working memory; and that causal relationships were stored through being integrated into spatial maps to create increasingly complex causal models of the world.

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Working Memory, Neuroanatomy, and Archaeology

Cited by 10 publications

References 28 publications

The Implications of the Working Memory Model for the Evolution of Modern Cognition

The Implications of the Working Memory Model for the Evolution of Modern Cognition

Up to the magical number seven: An evolutionary perspective on the capacity of short term memory

The origins of causal cognition in early hominins

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