This poster session features projects exploring the evolutionary and neurological factors contributing to the unique mental and behavioral abilities of homo sapiens. Specific topics include: the evolutionary advantages, and mental health disadvantages, of extended development and neuroplasticity; structural and genetic factors contributing to intelligence and emotional processing (e.g., the anterior cingulate cortex; FOXP2 and SRGAP2 genes); and potentially special phenomena arising from human cognition (e.g., music, political organization and partisanship).
