The neural underpinnings of repeated skill transfer in human cultural evolution
Cumulative cultural evolution (CCE) is a fundamental aspect of human cognition, enabling the refinement and transmission of complex skills across generations. This study explores the cognitive abilities supporting CCE through a transmission chain design using a knot-tying task combined with brain im...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1545120/full |
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| author | Heidi Øhrn Heidi Øhrn Emilie Pettersen Sjursen Karsten Specht Karsten Specht Kenneth Hugdahl Kenneth Hugdahl Kenneth Hugdahl Larissa Mendoza Straffon Larissa Mendoza Straffon Andrea Bender Andrea Bender |
| author_facet | Heidi Øhrn Heidi Øhrn Emilie Pettersen Sjursen Karsten Specht Karsten Specht Kenneth Hugdahl Kenneth Hugdahl Kenneth Hugdahl Larissa Mendoza Straffon Larissa Mendoza Straffon Andrea Bender Andrea Bender |
| author_sort | Heidi Øhrn |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cumulative cultural evolution (CCE) is a fundamental aspect of human cognition, enabling the refinement and transmission of complex skills across generations. This study explores the cognitive abilities supporting CCE through a transmission chain design using a knot-tying task combined with brain imaging to examine how skills are acquired over successive learning and transmission stages. We obtained data from two chains of multiple generations of participants. Our results revealed generational modifications in knot-tying techniques accompanied by increased prefrontal cortex activation in later generations of learners, possibly suggesting that loss of information due to imperfect copying fidelity increases cognitive demands for working memory. Our study further shows the potential of brain imaging as a viable technique for investigating CCE. By applying functional MRI to track neural activity during the acquisition of knot-tying skills, we provide a novel approach for understanding the cognitive mechanisms that underlie cultural knowledge transfer. Further research integrating neuroimaging with behavioral studies could help clarify how cognitive and neural processes contribute to the accumulation and refinement of cultural knowledge over time. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7eaf1d4972c142ef9409dbf25cebc553 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-7eaf1d4972c142ef9409dbf25cebc5532025-08-20T03:48:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-05-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15451201545120The neural underpinnings of repeated skill transfer in human cultural evolutionHeidi Øhrn0Heidi Øhrn1Emilie Pettersen Sjursen2Karsten Specht3Karsten Specht4Kenneth Hugdahl5Kenneth Hugdahl6Kenneth Hugdahl7Larissa Mendoza Straffon8Larissa Mendoza Straffon9Andrea Bender10Andrea Bender11Department of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwaySFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Biological and Medical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayMohn Medical Imaging and Visualization Centre (MMIV), Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, NorwaySFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Biological and Medical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDivision of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwaySFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayDepartment of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwaySFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, NorwayCumulative cultural evolution (CCE) is a fundamental aspect of human cognition, enabling the refinement and transmission of complex skills across generations. This study explores the cognitive abilities supporting CCE through a transmission chain design using a knot-tying task combined with brain imaging to examine how skills are acquired over successive learning and transmission stages. We obtained data from two chains of multiple generations of participants. Our results revealed generational modifications in knot-tying techniques accompanied by increased prefrontal cortex activation in later generations of learners, possibly suggesting that loss of information due to imperfect copying fidelity increases cognitive demands for working memory. Our study further shows the potential of brain imaging as a viable technique for investigating CCE. By applying functional MRI to track neural activity during the acquisition of knot-tying skills, we provide a novel approach for understanding the cognitive mechanisms that underlie cultural knowledge transfer. Further research integrating neuroimaging with behavioral studies could help clarify how cognitive and neural processes contribute to the accumulation and refinement of cultural knowledge over time.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1545120/fullcumulative cultural evolutionsocial learningknot-tyingcognitive evolutionobservational learningimitation |
| spellingShingle | Heidi Øhrn Heidi Øhrn Emilie Pettersen Sjursen Karsten Specht Karsten Specht Kenneth Hugdahl Kenneth Hugdahl Kenneth Hugdahl Larissa Mendoza Straffon Larissa Mendoza Straffon Andrea Bender Andrea Bender The neural underpinnings of repeated skill transfer in human cultural evolution Frontiers in Psychology cumulative cultural evolution social learning knot-tying cognitive evolution observational learning imitation |
| title | The neural underpinnings of repeated skill transfer in human cultural evolution |
| title_full | The neural underpinnings of repeated skill transfer in human cultural evolution |
| title_fullStr | The neural underpinnings of repeated skill transfer in human cultural evolution |
| title_full_unstemmed | The neural underpinnings of repeated skill transfer in human cultural evolution |
| title_short | The neural underpinnings of repeated skill transfer in human cultural evolution |
| title_sort | neural underpinnings of repeated skill transfer in human cultural evolution |
| topic | cumulative cultural evolution social learning knot-tying cognitive evolution observational learning imitation |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1545120/full |
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