CARTA - Anthropogeny (Video)

Close relationships help us shape both our other social interactions as well as our internal physiology. Do these close relationships, also known as pair bonds, look and function similarly in species as diverse as titi monkeys, prairie voles, seahorses, and humans? How do negative experiences such as loss factor into, and perhaps strengthen, our close relationships? And what do we

Dr. Theofanopoulou studies neural circuits behind sensory-motor behaviors like speech and dance, aiming to develop drug- and arts-based therapies for brain disorders. Her brain imaging research reveals overlapping motor cortex regions controlling muscles for speech and dance, while transcriptomic studies show upregulation of the oxytocin gene pathway in key areas like the motor cor

Humans are an intensely social species. We experience social interactions as rewarding from infancy, and the social cognitive skills that we develop in the context of our earliest interpersonal attachments are critical for our survival and personal well being. Lack of social connection is common in many psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. In some disorders, like autism sp

Oxytocin is a peptide molecule with a multitude of physiological and behavioral functions. Based on its association with reproduction, including social bonding, sexual behavior, birth and maternal behavior, oxytocin also has been called “the love hormone.” This presentation will examine parallels between the healing power of oxytocin and love. As described here, many myths and

Human beings show a range of emotional attachment, affection, and infatuation often referred to as “love”. Love promotes long-lasting and secure relationships that involve nurturing and support. Biological mechanisms underlying such behavior involve ancient neuropeptides and their receptors in the brain. These systems are also involved in reproduction, ranging from mating and p

Ancient texts warn of love turning into hatred, as seen in stories like Cain and Abel or “Et tu, Brute?” This talk explores the neurobiology of hatred based on the biology of love: the oxytocin system, attachment networks, and biobehavioral synchrony, which mature through mother-infant bonding and later support group solidarity and out-group hostility. Using this model, we deve

At a global level, Homo sapiens have reshaped the planet Earth to such an extent that we now talk of a new geological age, the Anthropocene. But each of us shapes our own worlds, physically, symbolically, and in the worlds of imagination. This symposium focuses especially on one form of construction, the construction of buildings, while stressing that such construction is ever shap

The symbolic tools we use to design and construct our environments have been transformed by the so-called Cybernetic revolution and the innovations in materials technology that have accompanied them. The integration of computers, the Internet of Things, embedded robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) supports the development of intelligent/smart buildings where specific levels

This talk explores the needs of the poor and homeless around the world, charting the interplay between formal and informal settlements. The key example for this talk will be the favelas of Saõ Paulo in the context of a broader concern with Latin American urbanism and the role of individual initiative, social forces and politics as agencies of urban transformation. Built environmen

The site of Göbekli Tepe is well known as a settlement of the transitional phase in SW-Asia, in which the greater mobility of the Palaeolithic increasingly gave way to the more permanent settlement of the Neolithic. This talk uses the example of Göbekli Tepe to explore the linkage of buildings with ecology, climate, economy, cultural, political, symbolic systems, and creation of