dr_mabeuse
seduce the mind
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2002
- Posts
- 11,528
One of the hottest topics in human evolutionary biology is the question of human altruism -- why we look out for each other rather than just look out for ourselves. After all, evolution says it's just our own genes we should be concerned with saving.
The answer seems simple, to me at least. We look out for each other because we're social animals and have no chance for survival on our own, as isolated organisms. We live and die as a group. If our group goes down, so do our own genes. But classical evolutionary theory isn't happy with this idea for some reason.
Now this theory has gotten a powerful boost. Two studies have linked altruism with two genes --the AVPR1 and the D4 -- that produce the behavior-affecting hormones vasopressin and dopamine. Basically, they found that people who were more altruistic and caring had more "active" forms of these genes. That means these behaviors are built into us, not learned. Altruism is hardwired into our brains along with intelligence and the capacity for language and the other things that make us human.
The AVPR1 gene produces vasopressin, a "socializing" hormone that induces social bonding (it's one of the hormones mothers produce for their new babies). People who were more altruistic had a form of the gene that was more likely to express itself and produce vasopressin than the non-altruistic group.
The D4 gene is associated with higher production of the "reward" neurotransmitter dopamine, which we feel when we're excited or elated. The altruistic crowd similarly had a 'more sensitive' form of this gene as well. It's theorized that they're more likely to feel internal rewards from acts of social kindness.
Altruism was tested in the D4 case by a questionnaire. For the AVPR1 gene, a game was set up where the subjects were given a hypothetical $12 and asked to share it with another person. They could give them some, none or all of it, and their response was then matched with their genetic profile.
The article's here.
You have to wonder now about people with mutations to the AVPR1 or D4. Is this where our psychopaths come from?
The answer seems simple, to me at least. We look out for each other because we're social animals and have no chance for survival on our own, as isolated organisms. We live and die as a group. If our group goes down, so do our own genes. But classical evolutionary theory isn't happy with this idea for some reason.
Now this theory has gotten a powerful boost. Two studies have linked altruism with two genes --the AVPR1 and the D4 -- that produce the behavior-affecting hormones vasopressin and dopamine. Basically, they found that people who were more altruistic and caring had more "active" forms of these genes. That means these behaviors are built into us, not learned. Altruism is hardwired into our brains along with intelligence and the capacity for language and the other things that make us human.
The AVPR1 gene produces vasopressin, a "socializing" hormone that induces social bonding (it's one of the hormones mothers produce for their new babies). People who were more altruistic had a form of the gene that was more likely to express itself and produce vasopressin than the non-altruistic group.
The D4 gene is associated with higher production of the "reward" neurotransmitter dopamine, which we feel when we're excited or elated. The altruistic crowd similarly had a 'more sensitive' form of this gene as well. It's theorized that they're more likely to feel internal rewards from acts of social kindness.
Altruism was tested in the D4 case by a questionnaire. For the AVPR1 gene, a game was set up where the subjects were given a hypothetical $12 and asked to share it with another person. They could give them some, none or all of it, and their response was then matched with their genetic profile.
The article's here.
You have to wonder now about people with mutations to the AVPR1 or D4. Is this where our psychopaths come from?
