Frequent disturbances enhanced the resilience of past human populations.

The record of past human adaptations provides crucial lessons for guiding responses to crises in the future1-3. To date, there have been no systematic global comparisons of humans' ability to absorb and recover from disturbances through time4,5. Here we synthesized resilience across a broad sample of prehistoric population time-frequency data, spanning 30,000 years of human history. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of population decline show that frequent disturbances enhance a population's capacity to resist and recover from later downturns. Land-use patterns are important mediators of the strength of this positive association: farming and herding societies are more vulnerable but also more resilient overall. The results show that important trade-offs exist when adopting new or alternative land-use strategies.

Women's subsistence strategies predict fertility across cultures, but context matters.

While it is commonly assumed that farmers have higher, and foragers lower, fertility compared to populations practicing other forms of subsistence, robust supportive evidence is lacking. We tested whether subsistence activities-incorporating market integration-are associated with fertility in 10,250 women from 27 small-scale societies and found considerable variation in fertility. This variation did not align with group-level subsistence typologies. Societies labeled as "farmers" did not have higher fertility than others, while "foragers" did not have lower fertility. However, at the individual level, we found strong evidence that fertility was positively associated with farming and moderate evidence of a negative relationship between foraging and fertility. Markers of market integration were strongly negatively correlated with fertility. Despite strong cross-cultural evidence, these relationships were not consistent in all populations, highlighting the importance of the socioecological context, which likely influences the diverse mechanisms driving the relationship between fertility and subsistence.

Reconstructing prehistoric demography: What role for extant hunter-gatherers?

Demography is central to biological, behavioral, and cultural evolution. Knowledge of the demography of prehistoric populations of both Homo sapiens and earlier members of the genus Homo is, therefore, key to the study of human evolution. Unfortunately, demographic processes (fertility, mortality, migration) leave little mark on the archeological and paleoanthropological records. One common solution to this issue is the application of demographic data from extant hunter-gatherers to prehistory. With the aim of strengthening this line of enquiry, here we outline some pitfalls and their interpretative implications. In doing so, we provide recommendations about the application of hunter-gatherer data to the study of demographic trends throughout human evolution. We use published demographic data from extant hunter-gatherers to show that it is the diversity seen among extant hunter-gatherers-both intra- and inter-population variability-that is most relevant and useful for understanding past hunter-gatherer demography.

Needs, priorities, and attitudes of individuals with spinal cord injury toward nerve stimulation devices for bladder and bowel function: a survey.

STUDY DESIGN: Survey. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the needs and priorities of people with spinal cord injury for managing neurogenic bladder and bowel function and to determine their willingness to adopt neuromodulation interventions for these functions. METHODS: Anonymous online survey. It was advertised by word-of-mouth by community influencers and social media, and by advertisement in newsletters of advocacy groups. RESULTS: Responses from 370 individuals (27% female, 73% male) were included. Bladder emptying without catheters was the top priority for restoring bladder function, and maintaining fecal continence was the top priority for restoring bowel function. The biggest concerns regarding external stimulation systems were wearing a device with wires connecting to electrodes on the skin and having to don and doff the system daily as needed. The biggest concerns for implanted systems were the chances of experiencing problems with the implant that required a revision surgery or surgical removal of the whole system. Respondents were willing to accept an external (61%) or implanted (41%) device to achieve improved bladder or bowel function. CONCLUSIONS: Bladder and bowel dysfunction remain important unmet challenges for individuals living with SCI who answered our survey. These individuals are willing to accept some potential risks of nerve stimulation approaches given potential benefits. Additional consumer input is critical for guiding both research and translation to clinical use and personalized medicine.

Applying the IEEE BRAIN neuroethics framework to intra-cortical brain-computer interfaces.

Objective. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are neuroprosthetic devices that allow for direct interaction between brains and machines. These types of neurotechnologies have recently experienced a strong drive in research and development, given, in part, that they promise to restore motor and communication abilities in individuals experiencing severe paralysis. While a rich literature analyzes the ethical, legal, and sociocultural implications (ELSCI) of these novel neurotechnologies, engineers, clinicians and BCI practitioners often do not have enough exposure to these topics.Approach. Here, we present the IEEE Neuroethics Framework, an international, multiyear, iterative initiative aimed at developing a robust, accessible set of considerations for diverse stakeholders.Main results. Using the framework, we provide practical examples of ELSCI considerations for BCI neurotechnologies. We focus on invasive technologies, and in particular, devices that are implanted intra-cortically for medical research applications.Significance. We demonstrate the utility of our framework in exposing a wide range of implications across different intra-cortical BCI technology modalities and conclude with recommendations on how to utilize this knowledge in the development and application of ethical guidelines for BCI neurotechnologies.

Definition of Implanted Neurological Device Abandonment: A Systematic Review and Consensus Statement.

Importance: Establishing a formal definition for neurological device abandonment has the potential to reduce or to prevent the occurrence of this abandonment. Objective: To perform a systematic review of the literature and develop an expert consensus definition for neurological device abandonment. Evidence Review: After a Royal Society Summit on Neural Interfaces (September 13-14, 2023), a systematic English language review using PubMed was undertaken to investigate extant definitions of neurological device abandonment. Articles were reviewed for relevance to neurological device abandonment in the setting of deep brain, vagal nerve, and spinal cord stimulation. This review was followed by the convening of an expert consensus group of physicians, scientists, ethicists, and stakeholders. The group summarized findings, added subject matter experience, and applied relevant ethics concepts to propose a current operational definition of neurological device abandonment. Data collection, study, and consensus development were done between September 13, 2023, and February 1, 2024. Findings: The PubMed search revealed 734 total articles, and after review, 7 articles were found to address neurological device abandonment. The expert consensus group addressed findings as germane to neurological device abandonment and added personal experience and additional relevant peer-reviewed articles, addressed stakeholders' respective responsibilities, and operationally defined abandonment in the context of implantable neurotechnological devices. The group further addressed whether clinical trial failure or shelving of devices would constitute or be associated with abandonment as defined. Referential to these domains and dimensions, the group proposed a standardized definition for abandonment of active implantable neurotechnological devices. Conclusions and Relevance: This study's consensus statement suggests that the definition for neurological device abandonment should entail failure to provide fundamental aspects of patient consent; fulfill reasonable responsibility for medical, technical, or financial support prior to the end of the device's labeled lifetime; and address any or all immediate needs that may result in safety concerns or device ineffectiveness and that the definition of abandonment associated with the failure of a research trial should be contingent on specific circumstances.

Comparing the effect of imputation reference panel composition in four distinct Latin American cohorts.

Genome-wide association studies have been useful in identifying genetic risk factors for various phenotypes. These studies rely on imputation and many existing panels are largely composed of individuals of European ancestry, resulting in lower levels of imputation quality in underrepresented populations. We aim to analyze how the composition of imputation reference panels affects imputation quality in four target Latin American cohorts. We compared imputation quality for chromosomes 7 and X when altering the imputation reference panel by: 1) increasing the number of Latin American individuals; 2) excluding either Latin American, African, or European individuals, or 3) increasing the Indigenous American (IA) admixture proportions of included Latin Americans. We found that increasing the number of Latin Americans in the reference panel improved imputation quality in the four populations; however, there were differences between chromosomes 7 and X in some cohorts. Excluding Latin Americans from analysis resulted in worse imputation quality in every cohort, while differential effects were seen when excluding Europeans and Africans between and within cohorts and between chromosomes 7 and X. Finally, increasing IA-like admixture proportions in the reference panel increased imputation quality at different levels in different populations. The difference in results between populations and chromosomes suggests that existing and future reference panels containing Latin American individuals are likely to perform differently in different Latin American populations.

Group music therapy with songwriting for adult patients with long-term depression (SYNCHRONY study): a feasibility and acceptability study of the intervention and parallel randomised controlled trial design with wait-list control and nested process evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Despite effective treatments, one fifth of patients develop chronic depression. Music therapy may offer a different approach. This study aimed to assess feasibility and acceptability of a music therapy intervention and trial methodology. METHODS: A parallel two-arm randomised controlled trial with wait-list control, mixed feasibility/acceptability measures and nested process evaluation. Adults with long-term depression (symptom duration > 1 year) were recruited from community mental health services and computer randomised to 42 sessions of group music therapy with songwriting three times per week or wait-list control. Depression, social functioning, distress, quality of life, satisfaction and service use were assessed by blinded researchers at enrolment, 1 week and 3 and 6 months post-therapy. Outcomes were analysed descriptively, controlling for baseline covariates. Recruitment (number eligible, participation and retention rates) and intervention (fidelity, adherence) feasibility were assessed using pre-defined stop-go criteria. Attendance, adverse events, mood, relationship satisfaction and semi-structured interviews were analysed in a nested process evaluation. RESULTS: Recruitment processes were feasible with 421 eligible, 12.7% participation and 60% (18/30) retention. Thirty participants were randomised to intervention (N = 20) and control (N = 10). Session attendance was low (mean 10.5) with four withdrawals. Music therapist adherence was good but changes to session frequency were suggested. Outcomes were available for 10/20 treatment and 9/10 wait-list participants. Depression increased in both arms post-therapy. Treatment depression scores fell below baseline 3 and 6 months post-therapy indicating improvement. Wait-list depression scores increased from baseline 3 and 6 months post-therapy. At 3 months, the treatment arm improved from baseline on all measures except satisfaction and functioning. At 6 months, quality of life, distress and functioning improved with reduction in health service contacts. High-attending participants improved more than low-attending. Seven adverse events (one serious) were reported. LIMITATIONS: As this was a feasibility study, clinical outcomes should be interpreted cautiously. CONCLUSION: A randomised controlled trial of group music therapy using songwriting is feasible with inclusion criteria and session frequency modifications, but further intervention development is required. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN18164037 on 26.09.2016.

Building a culture of responsible neurotech: Neuroethics as socio-technical challenges.

Scientists around the globe are joining the race to achieve engineering feats to read, write, modulate, and interface with the human brain in a broadening continuum of invasive to non-invasive ways. The expansive implications of neurotechnology for our conception of health, mind, decision-making, and behavior has raised social and ethical considerations that are inextricable from neurotechnological progress. We propose "socio-technical" challenges as a framing to integrate neuroethics into the engineering process. Intentionally aligning societal and engineering goals within this framework offers a way to maximize the positive impact of next-generation neurotechnologies on society.

Demographic uniformitarianism: the theoretical basis of prehistoric demographic research and its cross-disciplinary challenges.

A principle of demographic uniformitarianism underpins all research into prehistoric demography (palaeodemography). This principle-which argues for continuity in the evolved mechanisms underlying modern human demographic processes and their response to environmental stimuli between past and present-provides the cross-disciplinary basis for palaeodemographic reconstruction and analysis. Prompted by the recent growth and interest in the field of prehistoric demography, this paper reviews the principle of demographic uniformitarianism, evaluates how it relates to two key debates in palaeodemographic research and seeks to delimit its range of applicability to past human and hominin populations. This article is part of the theme issue 'Cross-disciplinary approaches to prehistoric demography'.

Theoretical and Methodological Approaches to Ecological Changes, Social Behaviour and Human Intergroup Tolerance 300,000 to 30,000 BP.

Archaeological evidence suggests that important shifts were taking place in the character of human social behaviours 300,000 to 30,000 years ago. New artefact types appear and are disseminated with greater frequency. Transfers of both raw materials and finished artefacts take place over increasing distances, implying larger scales of regional mobility and more frequent and friendlier interactions between different communities. Whilst these changes occur during a period of increasing environmental variability, the relationship between ecological changes and transformations in social behaviours is elusive. Here, we explore a possible theoretical approach and methodology for understanding how ecological contexts can influence selection pressures acting on intergroup social behaviours. We focus on the relative advantages and disadvantages of intergroup tolerance in different ecological contexts using agent-based modelling (ABM). We assess the relative costs and benefits of different 'tolerance' levels in between-group interactions on survival and resource exploitation in different environments. The results enable us to infer a potential relationship between ecological changes and proposed changes in between-group behavioural dynamics. We conclude that increasingly harsh environments may have driven changes in hormonal and emotional responses in humans leading to increasing intergroup tolerance, i.e. transformations in social behaviour associated with 'self-domestication'. We argue that changes in intergroup tolerance is a more parsimonious explanation for the emergence of what has been seen as 'modern human behaviour' than changes in hard aspects of cognition or other factors such as cognitive adaptability or population size. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10816-020-09503-5.

What do spinal cord injury consumers want? A review of spinal cord injury consumer priorities and neuroprosthesis from the 2008 neural interfaces conference.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize research to understand the priorities of consumers with spinal cord injury (SCI) as related to neuroprosthesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This review is generated from results presented during a session at the 2008 Neural Interfaces Conference held in Cleveland, OH including presentations of research, observation of a panel discussion, and a case study. RESULTS: Understanding priorities of consumers living with SCI may help guide development of technology to potentially increase quality of life, confidence, and independence. Those living with quadriplegia desire arm and hand function while persons with paraplegia wish to regain sexual function. Shared priorities in the SCI population are the restoration of bladder and bowel function and the importance of exercise for functional recovery. CONCLUSION: Understanding the consumer is the cornerstone to successful delivery of a neuroprosthesis. Translational research by multidisciplinary teams is needed to understand these issues and move technology for people living with SCI from the bench to the bedside.

Adolescence and innovation in the European Upper Palaeolithic.

Childhood and adolescence are two stages of development that are unique to the human life course. While childhood in the Pleistocene has received considerable attention in recent years, adolescence during the same period remains an understudied area of research. Yet it is during adolescence that key social, physical and cognitive milestones are reached. Thus, through studying adolescents, there is enormous potential for improving our understanding of Upper Palaeolithic lifeways more broadly. The reason for the dearth of these types of studies may be the perceived methodological difficulty of identifying adolescents in the archaeological record. In many ways, it is easier to distinguish children (sensu lato) from adults based on size, developmental age and associated artefacts. Adolescents, however, are often seen as more ambiguous, more liminal. Working within an evolutionary framework and using a definition of adolescence rooted in biology, we draw on psychology, ethnography and palaeodemography to develop a model of what it might have meant to be a 'teenager' in the European Upper Palaeolithic. Citing the biological, social and cognitive changes that occur during this life stage, we propose an important role of teenagers in the origins and spread of new ideas and innovations throughout the Late Pleistocene.

Cleveland neural engineering workshop 2017: strategic evaluation of neural engineering.

The Cleveland Neural Engineering Workshop (NEW) was established as a biennial meeting in 2011, with subsequent meetings taking place in 2013, 2015, and most recently, June 2017. This fourth biennial NEW was hosted by the Cleveland Advanced Platform for Technology National Veterans Affairs Center, the Functional Electrical Stimulation National Veterans Affairs Center, the Biomedical Engineering Department at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and Northwell Health's Feinstein Institute for Medical Research of New York. The workshop connects leaders and stakeholders in the neural engineering community who are devoted to developing and deploying technological solutions to those with neurological disorders. The meeting in 2017 continued strategic conversations initiated at the third Cleveland NEW conference in 2015. The goal of the 2017 workshop was to was to determine specific actions by which the neural engineering community might advance the goals outlined in 2015, assess progress towards that plan, adjust as necessary, and establish continued strategic direction. This meeting report summarizes the outcomes.

Proceedings of the second biennial Cleveland Neural Engineering Workshop 2013.

The Cleveland Neural Engineering Workshop (NEW) is a biennial meeting started in 2011 as an "unconference" to bring together leaders in the neural engineering and related fields. Since the first iteration of the meeting, NEW has evolved from "just getting together" to a more important purpose of creating, reviewing, and promoting a uniform strategic roadmap for the field. The purpose of this short report, as well as the companion 2015 and 2017 reports, is to provide a historical record of this meeting and the evolution of the roadmap. These reports more importantly establish a baseline for the next meeting to be held in June, 2019. The second Neural Engineering Workshop (NEW) was held in June 2013. The two-day workshop was hosted by the Cleveland Advanced Platform for Technology National Veterans Affairs Center, the Functional Electrical Stimulation National Veterans Affairs Center, and the Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Participants identified seven areas of future focus in the field of neural engineering: active communications with users, advocacy (regulatory), network building (clinical practice), case studies (clinical and technical), early industrial feedback, value chain resources, engagement, and advocacy (funding). This proceedings document summarizes the meeting outcome.

Translating promising strategies for bowel and bladder management in spinal cord injury.

Loss of control over voiding following spinal cord injury (SCI) impacts autonomy, participation and dignity, and can cause life-threatening complications. The importance of SCI bowel and bladder dysfunction warrants significantly more attention from researchers in the field. To address this gap, key SCI clinicians, researchers, government and private funding organizations met to share knowledge and examine emerging approaches. This report reviews recommendations from this effort to identify and prioritize near-term treatment, investigational and translational approaches to addressing the pressing needs of people with SCI.