Reading children's teeth to reconstruct life history and the evolution of human cooperation and cognition: The role of dental enamel microstructure and chemistry.

Neurosci Biobehav Rev

Institut of Geosciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, 60438, Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Frankfurt Isotope and Element Research Center (FIERCE), Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Published: August 2024

Studying infants in the past is crucial for understanding the evolution of human life history and the evolution of cooperation, cognition, and communication. An infant's growth, health, and mortality can provide information about the dynamics and structure of a population, their cultural practices, and the adaptive capacity of a community. Skeletal remains provide one way of accessing this information for humans recovered prior to the historical periods. Teeth in particular, are retrospective archives of information that can be accessed through morphological, micromorphological, and biogeochemical methods. This review discusses how the microanatomy and formation of teeth, and particularly enamel, serve as archives of somatic growth, stress, and the environment. Examining their role in the broader context of human evolution, we discuss dental biogeochemistry and emphasize how the incremental growth of tooth microstructure facilitates the reconstruction of temporal data related to health, diet, mobility, and stress in past societies. The review concludes by considering tooth microstructure as a biomarker and the potential clinical applications.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105745DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

life history
8
history evolution
8
evolution human
8
cooperation cognition
8
tooth microstructure
8
reading children's
4
children's teeth
4
teeth reconstruct
4
reconstruct life
4
evolution
4

Similar Publications

species are parasitic organisms of vertebrates with a worldwide distribution. They have an important impact globally upon human and animal health, and livestock productivity. The life cycle of these species is complex and difficult to disrupt to improve human health, animal health, food security and economic growth.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Context: Historical land use is thought to have influenced plant community diversity, composition and function through the local persistence of taxa that reflect ecological conditions of the past.

Objectives: We tested for the effects of historical land use on contemporary plant species richness, composition, and ecological preferences in the grassland vegetation of Central Europe.

Methods: We analyzed 6975 vegetation plots sampled between 1946 and 2021 in dry, mesic, and wet grasslands in the borderland between Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: The well-being of trauma-affected children and youth in residential care settings is contingent upon the well-being of the workers who care for them, who are increasingly expected to provide care in a trauma-informed manner. The well-being of residential care workers (RCWs) may be impacted by their own histories of adversity, their capacity individually and collectively to navigate to resources that sustain their well-being (resilience), and current perceptions of their professional quality of life.

Objective: This study aimed to fill a research gap by canvassing the perspectives of RCWs to determine what and how they need to be supported in their work.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Pregnancy-related spontaneous coronary artery dissection (P-SCAD) is a life-threatening condition that occurs during or after pregnancy, is rare and can be overlooked. It is one of the most important causes of pregnancy-related acute myocardial infarction. A 25-year-old female patient was admitted with a complaint of chest pain in her 37th week of pregnancy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background Carotid artery stenting is a well-established alternative treatment to carotid endarterectomy for carotid artery stenosis for preventing stroke. This study assessed the procedural and clinical outcomes in patients undergoing carotid artery stenting in a tertiary care center in India. Methods A total of 39 patients underwent carotid artery stenting from January 2022 to December 2023, with different embolic protection devices and carotid stents.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!