Basics of social cognitive and affective neuroscience.
XII. Genes and culture

Czech version

Authors: F. Koukolík
Authors‘ workplace: Oddělení patologie a molekulární medicíny, Národní referenční laboratoř prionových chorob, Fakultní Thomayerova nemocnice s poliklinikou, Praha, Primář: MUDr. František Koukolík, DrSc
Published in: Prakt. Lék. 2011; 91(12): 695-699
Category: Editorial

Overview

Culture is information that is capable of affecting an individual’s behaviour, which they acquire from other individuals through social learning. Culture is a source of adaptive behaviour. Information includes knowledge, beliefs, values and skills. There is the possibility of the existence of culture in non-human social animals. Uniquely human social cognition is associated with a large-scale neurocognitive network which has six nodes:

posterior temporal cortex,
extrastriate body area,
posterior superior temporal sulcus,
temporo-parietal junction,
ventral and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, and
cingular cortex.

Many models exists of gene-culture evolution. The effects of culture on gene selection and the theory of niche construction are described in brief.

Key words:
culture, human social cognition, co-evolution gene, culture, niche construction theory.

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