Abstract
Language evolution resulted from changes in our biology, behavior, and culture. One source of these changes might be human self-domestication. Williams syndrome (WS) is a clinical condition with a clearly defined genetic basis which results in a distinctive behavioral and cognitive profile, including enhanced sociability. In this paper we show evidence that the WS phenotype can be satisfactorily construed as a hyper-domesticated human phenotype, plausibly resulting from the effect of the WS hemideletion on selected candidates for domestication and neural crest (NC) function. Specifically, we show that genes involved in animal domestication and NC development and function are significantly dysregulated in the blood of subjects with WS. We also discuss the consequences of this link between domestication and WS for our current understanding of language evolution.
Highlights
The evolution of modern language seemingly resulted from multiple changes in the body, the cognitive abilities, and the behavior of our ancestors
This ability depends on living in a particular cultural environment, which has contributed to the reshaping of the nature of the languages to be acquired and used, as language adapts itself according to the method of transmission (Kirby et al, 2014, 2015, Kirby, 2017)
Cognitive conditions entailing problems with socialization and language, like schizophrenia (SZ) or autism spectrum disorders (ASD), exhibit an abnormal presentation of traits associated withdomestication; genes involved in domestication and neural crest (NC) development and function are overrepresented among the candidates for these conditions and/or exhibit altered expression profiles in the brain of affected people (Benítez-Burraco et al, 2016, 2017)
Summary
The evolution of modern language seemingly resulted from multiple changes in the body, the cognitive abilities, and the behavior of our ancestors. Candidates for domestication are related (and partially overlap) with candidates for language readiness (Benítez-Burraco et al, 2016), suggesting that self-domestication might have affected the development and the evolution of our typical brain hardware as well, our distinctive pattern of brain connectivity and our cognitive abilities, resulting in our language-readiness.
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