They study the relationship between the use of lithic tools and cognitive abilities

The Paleoneurobiology group of the National Center for Research on Human Evolution (CENIEH), led by Emiliano Bruner, has just published, in collaboration with the Museum of Human Evolution of Burgos and the Sociograph company of Valladolid, a new article on cognitive archeology in which the hand-tool ratio analyzing the geometry of the utensils, the grip of the hand and the electrical response of the skin (electrodermography).

The article introduces the relationships between prehistory and neuroscience, and the relationships between working memory and visuospatial integration. In particular, it focuses on how tools influence our cognitive mechanisms, altering the perception of the body and space.

Manipulation patterns

The prehistoric tools they are crucial in interpreting the cognitive abilities of extinct human species. The study of its shape is carried out with geometric and spatial models, and it is integrated with the study of their manipulation patterns.

The electrodermal methods they record, through electrodes, the variations in the levels of attention during the interaction between hand and utensils, revealing differences between individuals or between different types of tools.

These methods are often used in neuromarketing to quantify emotional responses to commercial stimuli.

The article has been published in a volume dedicated to processes of visuospatial attention and working memory, of the Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences series (Springer), and has been edited by Timothy Hodgson, professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Lincoln (UK), Parkinson's disease expert.

Bibliographic reference:

Emiliano Bruner, Annapaola Fedato, María Silva-Gago, Rodrigo Alonso-Alcalde, Marcos Terradillos-Bernal, María Ángeles Fernández-Durantes, Elena Martín-Guerra. "Visuospatial Integration and Hand-Tool Interaction in Cognitive Archeology". Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences.

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