Evolutionary-shaped goal orientation in Homo sapiens: how life sciences contribute to a better understanding of salespeople as knowledge brokers

Figures & data

Table 1. List of terms.

Brain connectivity: a statistical relationship based on correlational patterns or on causal modeling between different regions of the brain. Candidate gene approach: seeks to find an association between a genetic variation (mostly an SNP) and a phenotype of interest. Convergence zone: nuclei in the brain that receive different projections from other brain nuclei that enable integration of information and, from there, a nucleus projects to other nuclei in the brain, allowing the brain to execute a range of functions. DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid with a sugar and base pairs guanine (G), adenine (A), cytosine (C), and thymine (T), known as the genetic code. On the basis of the base pairs, proteins are produced that produce substances that regulate cellular dynamics that maintain cellular functioning. EEG (electroencephalography): a measure of the electric activity in the brain where it is assumed that specific bands correspond to specific brain activities in that brain region. This technique has a high temporal resolution. Empathy: the ability of a person to feel what another person feels, but not attribute these feelings to himself or herself. Encephalization quotient: the relative brain size measure computed by the ratio between brain mass and the body volume of an animal. Endocrinology: the study of how the chemical messenger “hormone” is secreted by specific organs in body and brain regions and affects the functioning of organs, both in body and brain, which in turn has behavioral effects. fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging): the measuring of brain activity on the basis of blood flow. It is assumed that the blood flow to brain nuclei reflects an increase in activity, compared to that in other regions of the brain. Genetics: an important branch of life sciences that deals with a person’s genetic make-up that affects how traits emerge in organisms and how these genes are inherited by the subsequent generation. Genome-wide association study (GWAS): seeks to find associations between genetic variations while screening the entire genome with a phenotype of interest. Limbic system: consists of several brain structures placed around the thalamus, including the amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus. It is involved mainly in emotion and motivation. Note that this region is connected to several regions in the neo-cortex. Molecular genetics: the study of how sequences of genes and their variations are transcribed and translated in a cell or neuron and how that affects the cellular functioning of a cell or neuron, which in turn might be related to a trait. Neo-cortex: the outer layer of the brain, made up of 6 layers (1 to VI). It is involved in higher-order brain functions especially in cognition, action, social interaction, language, and moral reasoning. Phenotype: the observable traits that an organism possesses in terms of behavior, physical properties (as brain size), or biological processes such as endocrine processes (the latter of which is an endophenotype). Prefrontal cortex: reflects the frontal part of the neo-cortex and is mainly perceived as the orchestrator via executive functioning of goals and actions. In addition, it allows a person to engage in both short- and long-term planning. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP): a variation in a genetic sequence that affects variations in the base pairs guanine (G), adenine (A), cytosine (C), and thymine (T) and that occurs in more than 1% of a population and is associated with a phenotype. Social learning: the acquisition of new behaviors via the observation, imitation, or training of behaviors of conspecifics in the social environment. Species: a group of organisms that share common characteristics (genotypes and phenotypes) and that are capable of breeding and producing fertile progenies. Theory of mind: the ability to attribute intentions, needs, beliefs to others and oneself with the awareness that the other person’s intentions, needs, beliefs are different from one’s own.

Figure 1. A neuroscientific presentation of goal orientation (adapted from Verschure, Pennartz, and Pezzulo 2014). Note: Figure 1 was not built on reverse inference but conceives brain regions via their co-activations as connected to one another, giving rise to emergent goal-oriented behaviors in both humans and other vertebrates. Also note that this brain depicted in Figure 1 is not a human brain but one that is most similar to that of all other vertebrates, such as rats, whose prefrontal cortex is smaller compared to that of humans. © 2014. Paul F.M.J. Verschure, Cyriel M.A. Pennartz, and Giovanni Pezzulo. All Rights Reserved. Reproduced with permission.

Figure 2. The brain of the Homo sapiens.

Figure 3. The cultural drive hypothesis according to Laland (adapted from Laland 2018b).

Figure 4. Prefrontal regulation studied in the first four proximate studies.

Figure 5. The study on interbrain synchronization.

Verschure, Paul F. M. J., Cyriel M. A. Pennartz, and Giovanni Pezzulo. 2014. “The Why, What, Where, When and How of Goal-Directed Choice: Neuronal and Computational Principles.” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 369 (1655):20130483. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0483.

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Laland, Kevin N. 2018b. “How We Became a Different Kind of Animal.” Scientific American 319 (3):33–9.

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