Neuroscience of Technology
Neuroscience of Technology
Although there is a burgeoning neuroscience of tool use, there is nothing that might be properly called a neuroscience of technology. This review aims to sketch the outlines of such a subject area and its relevance to the study of cultural evolution. Technology is itself an ill-defined term and is often taken to correspond loosely to human action that (a) involves the use or modification of objects, (b) displays a complexly organized multilevel structure, and (c) is socially reproduced. These characteristics may be better understood with reference to neuroscience research on perceptual-motor control, object manipulation, motor resonance, imitation learning, and goal-directed action. Such consideration suggests a number of biases which may affect the cultural evolution of technologies. Published in the Strungmann Forum Reports Series.
Keywords: neuroscience, tooluse, technology, evolution, imitation
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