Silk Joan B
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Science. 2007 Sep 7;317(5843):1347-51. doi: 10.1126/science.1140734.
There is much interest in the evolutionary forces that favored the evolution of large brains in the primate order. The social brain hypothesis posits that selection has favored larger brains and more complex cognitive capacities as a means to cope with the challenges of social life. The hypothesis is supported by evidence that shows that group size is linked to various measures of brain size. But it has not been clear how cognitive complexity confers fitness advantages on individuals. Research in the field and laboratory shows that sophisticated social cognition underlies social behavior in primate groups. Moreover, a growing body of evidence suggests that the quality of social relationships has measurable fitness consequences for individuals.
人们对推动灵长目动物大脑进化的进化力量十分感兴趣。社会大脑假说认为，自然选择青睐更大的大脑和更复杂的认知能力，以此作为应对社会生活挑战的一种方式。该假说得到了相关证据的支持，这些证据表明群体规模与大脑大小的各种衡量指标相关。但目前尚不清楚认知复杂性是如何赋予个体适应性优势的。该领域和实验室的研究表明，复杂的社会认知是灵长类群体社会行为的基础。此外，越来越多的证据表明，社会关系的质量对个体具有可衡量的适应性影响。
