© Jezper, ShutterstockIt may take a big brain to handle a big group of friends.
Working together can hasten brain evolution, according to a new computer simulation.
When programmed to navigate challenging cooperative tasks, the artificial neural networks set up by scientists to serve as mini-brains "learned" to work together, evolving the virtual equivalent of boosted brainpower over generations. The findings support a long-held theory that social interactions may have triggered brain evolution in
human ancestors.
"It is the transition to a cooperative group that can lead to maximum selection for intelligence," said study researcher Luke McNally, a doctoral candidate at Trinity College Dublin. Greater intelligence, in turn, leads to more sophisticated cooperation, McNally told LiveScience.
It also leads to more sophisticated means of cheating, he added.
Virtual neuronsMcNally and his colleagues used artificial neural networks as virtual guinea pigs to test the social theory of
brain evolution. These networks are the numerical equivalent of very simple brains. They're arranged in nodes, with each node representing a neuron.
"In the same way that neurons excite each other via signals [in the brain], these nodes pass numbers to each other, which then decides the activity of the next node," McNally said.
The neural networks are programmed to evolve, as well. They reproduce, and random mutations can introduce extra nodes into their networks. Just as in real-world evolution, if those nodes are beneficial to the network, it will be more likely to succeed and reproduce again, passing on the extra brain boost.
Comment: An excellent coping strategy for 'taming the stress response' is through controlled breathing exercises and meditation. Éiriú Eolas Stress Control, Healing and Rejuvenation Program is the modern revival of an ancient breathing and meditation program. This amazing scientific stress-control, healing, detoxing and rejuvenation program is THE KEY that will help you to change your life in a REAL and immediately noticeable way:
Proven benefits of the Éiriú Eolas Program include: