Gradual and radical evolution of human cognitive capacity through interaction with environment: Phase transition of brain mechanisms by the establishment of stimulus equivalence

Abstract

After a specific point in history, hominin evolution accelerated to a level that could not be accounted for by natural selection alone. However, an alternative mechanism has been proposed that is based on a mutual interaction between neural, cognitive, and ecological niches in a positive feedback loop (i.e., Triadic Niche Construction [TNC]). Nevertheless, the trigger events for the cognitive revolution of Homo sapiens and the reasons this event is limited to a single species remain unknown. This paper proposes a shift in the mechanisms underlying TNC from TNC-1 in primates/hominids to TNC-2 in Homo sapiens to answer these questions. As the primate and hominin brains expanded during TNC-1, latent cognitive capabilities were incubated within its domain-specific cognitive neural framework, which advanced to be expressed in a domain-general manner with a simple rewiring among brain areas in TNC-2. This process was quick and inexpensive but one that required a unique set of preconditions to commence. This process was bootstrapped by using the function of stimulus equivalence, which enabled humans to recognize the “self” in a particular time and space in the world, thereby allowing the manipulation of this world in a positive feedback loop.