Model of ecological (cultural) evolutionary neuropsychiatry

A new model posits that there are specific patterns of groupings of several delayed human cognitive functions or dysfunctions in certain ecological circumstances which characterize a significant portion of a cultural group. It is further posited that such patterns ("ecological syndromes") are primarily based on as yet unknown neurophysiological givens . This deduction is based on the occurrence of several specific groupings of delayed cognitive functions or dysfunctions that have been identified in diverse time periods and cultural groups where no brain pathology can reasonably be expected. The "ecological syndromes" were, however, noted to be analogous to those found in neuropathology. The main factor contributing to such an "ecological syndrome" appears to be a specifically limited under-use of certain functions not needed for the survival of certain populations without implying any general cultural deprivation. Some examples of "ecological syndromes" are mentioned: low arithmetic skills linked with quantitatively inaccurate pictorial (and implied mental) representation of fingers, low literacy skills linked with specifically inaccurate pictorial (and implied mental) representation of the subtle spatial relations of the configuration of the human face, and an "ecological apractognosia " observed among wigmen of New Guinea.