Language evolution and complexity considerations: The no half-Merge fallacy.

Abstract:

:Recently, prominent theoretical linguists have argued for an explicit scenario for the evolution of the human language capacity on the basis of its computational properties. Concretely, the simplicity of a minimalist formulation of the operation Merge, which allows humans to recursively compute hierarchical relations in language, has been used to promote a sudden-emergence, single-mutation scenario. In support of this view, Merge is said to be either fully present or fully absent: one cannot have half-Merge. On this basis, it is inferred that the emergence of our fully fledged language capacity had to be sudden. Thus, proponents of this view draw a parallelism between the formal complexity of the operation at the computational level and the number of evolutionary steps it must imply. Here, we examine this argument in detail and show that the jump from the atomicity of Merge to a single-mutation scenario is not valid and therefore cannot be used as justification for a theory of language evolution along those lines.

journal_name

PLoS Biol

journal_title

PLoS biology

authors

Martins PT,Boeckx C

doi

10.1371/journal.pbio.3000389

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

2019-11-27 00:00:00

pages

e3000389

issue

11

eissn

1544-9173

issn

1545-7885

pii

PBIOLOGY-D-19-00666

journal_volume

17

pub_type

杂志文章
  • Single-Cell-Based Analysis Highlights a Surge in Cell-to-Cell Molecular Variability Preceding Irreversible Commitment in a Differentiation Process.

    abstract::In some recent studies, a view emerged that stochastic dynamics governing the switching of cells from one differentiation state to another could be characterized by a peak in gene expression variability at the point of fate commitment. We have tested this hypothesis at the single-cell level by analyzing primary chicke...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002585

    authors: Richard A,Boullu L,Herbach U,Bonnafoux A,Morin V,Vallin E,Guillemin A,Papili Gao N,Gunawan R,Cosette J,Arnaud O,Kupiec JJ,Espinasse T,Gonin-Giraud S,Gandrillon O

    更新日期:2016-12-27 00:00:00

  • The DEAD-box Protein Rok1 Orchestrates 40S and 60S Ribosome Assembly by Promoting the Release of Rrp5 from Pre-40S Ribosomes to Allow for 60S Maturation.

    abstract::DEAD-box proteins are ubiquitous regulators of RNA biology. While commonly dubbed "helicases," their activities also include duplex annealing, adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent RNA binding, and RNA-protein complex remodeling. Rok1, an essential DEAD-box protein, and its cofactor Rrp5 are required for ribosome ass...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002480

    authors: Khoshnevis S,Askenasy I,Johnson MC,Dattolo MD,Young-Erdos CL,Stroupe ME,Karbstein K

    更新日期:2016-06-09 00:00:00

  • 3D-SIM super resolution microscopy reveals a bead-like arrangement for FtsZ and the division machinery: implications for triggering cytokinesis.

    abstract::FtsZ is a tubulin-like GTPase that is the major cytoskeletal protein in bacterial cell division. It polymerizes into a ring, called the Z ring, at the division site and acts as a scaffold to recruit other division proteins to this site as well as providing a contractile force for cytokinesis. To understand how FtsZ pe...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001389

    authors: Strauss MP,Liew AT,Turnbull L,Whitchurch CB,Monahan LG,Harry EJ

    更新日期:2012-01-01 00:00:00

  • Developing international open science collaborations: Funder reflections on the Open Science Prize.

    abstract::The Open Science Prize was established with the following objectives: first, to encourage the crowdsourcing of open data to make breakthroughs that are of biomedical significance; second, to illustrate that funders can indeed work together when scientific interests are aligned; and finally, to encourage international ...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2002617

    authors: Kittrie E,Atienza AA,Kiley R,Carr D,MacFarlane A,Pai V,Couch J,Bajkowski J,Bonner JF,Mietchen D,Bourne PE

    更新日期:2017-08-01 00:00:00

  • Modeling flexible behavior in childhood to adulthood shows age-dependent learning mechanisms and less optimal learning in autism in each age group.

    abstract::Flexible behavior is critical for everyday decision-making and has been implicated in restricted, repetitive behaviors (RRB) in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, how flexible behavior changes developmentally in ASD remains largely unknown. Here, we used a developmental approach and examined flexible behavior on...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000908

    authors: Crawley D,Zhang L,Jones EJH,Ahmad J,Oakley B,San José Cáceres A,Charman T,Buitelaar JK,Murphy DGM,Chatham C,den Ouden H,Loth E,EU-AIMS LEAP group.

    更新日期:2020-10-27 00:00:00

  • Podoplanin+ tumor lymphatics are rate limiting for breast cancer metastasis.

    abstract::Metastatic dissemination employs both the blood and lymphatic vascular systems. Solid tumors dynamically remodel and generate both vessel types during cancer progression. Lymphatic vessel invasion and cancer cells in the tumor-draining lymph nodes (LNs) are prognostic markers for breast cancer metastasis and patient o...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2005907

    authors: Chen Y,Keskin D,Sugimoto H,Kanasaki K,Phillips PE,Bizarro L,Sharpe A,LeBleu VS,Kalluri R

    更新日期:2018-12-28 00:00:00

  • The Economics of Reproducibility in Preclinical Research.

    abstract::Low reproducibility rates within life science research undermine cumulative knowledge production and contribute to both delays and costs of therapeutic drug development. An analysis of past studies indicates that the cumulative (total) prevalence of irreproducible preclinical research exceeds 50%, resulting in approxi...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002165

    authors: Freedman LP,Cockburn IM,Simcoe TS

    更新日期:2015-06-09 00:00:00

  • The genomic landscape of compensatory evolution.

    abstract::Adaptive evolution is generally assumed to progress through the accumulation of beneficial mutations. However, as deleterious mutations are common in natural populations, they generate a strong selection pressure to mitigate their detrimental effects through compensatory genetic changes. This process can potentially i...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001935

    authors: Szamecz B,Boross G,Kalapis D,Kovács K,Fekete G,Farkas Z,Lázár V,Hrtyan M,Kemmeren P,Groot Koerkamp MJ,Rutkai E,Holstege FC,Papp B,Pál C

    更新日期:2014-08-26 00:00:00

  • Whole-chromosome hitchhiking driven by a male-killing endosymbiont.

    abstract::Neo-sex chromosomes are found in many taxa, but the forces driving their emergence and spread are poorly understood. The female-specific neo-W chromosome of the African monarch (or queen) butterfly Danaus chrysippus presents an intriguing case study because it is restricted to a single 'contact zone' population, invol...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000610

    authors: Martin SH,Singh KS,Gordon IJ,Omufwoko KS,Collins S,Warren IA,Munby H,Brattström O,Traut W,Martins DJ,Smith DAS,Jiggins CD,Bass C,Ffrench-Constant RH

    更新日期:2020-02-27 00:00:00

  • Regulation of mammary stem/progenitor cells by PTEN/Akt/beta-catenin signaling.

    abstract::Recent evidence suggests that many malignancies, including breast cancer, are driven by a cellular subcomponent that displays stem cell-like properties. The protein phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is inactivated in a wide range of human cancers, an alteration that is associated with a poor prognosis. Because PTE...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000121

    authors: Korkaya H,Paulson A,Charafe-Jauffret E,Ginestier C,Brown M,Dutcher J,Clouthier SG,Wicha MS

    更新日期:2009-06-02 00:00:00

  • Precise genomic mapping of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine via covalent tether-directed sequencing.

    abstract::5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is the most prevalent intermediate on the oxidative DNA demethylation pathway and is implicated in regulation of embryogenesis, neurological processes, and cancerogenesis. Profiling of this relatively scarce genomic modification in clinical samples requires cost-effective high-resolution...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000684

    authors: Gibas P,Narmontė M,Staševskij Z,Gordevičius J,Klimašauskas S,Kriukienė E

    更新日期:2020-04-10 00:00:00

  • Nucleotide de novo synthesis increases breast cancer stemness and metastasis via cGMP-PKG-MAPK signaling pathway.

    abstract::Metabolic reprogramming to fulfill the biosynthetic and bioenergetic demands of cancer cells has aroused great interest in recent years. However, metabolic reprogramming for cancer metastasis has not been well elucidated. Here, we screened a subpopulation of breast cancer cells with highly metastatic capacity to the l...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000872

    authors: Lv Y,Wang X,Li X,Xu G,Bai Y,Wu J,Piao Y,Shi Y,Xiang R,Wang L

    更新日期:2020-11-13 00:00:00

  • Serial representation of items during working memory maintenance at letter-selective cortical sites.

    abstract::A key component of working memory is the ability to remember multiple items simultaneously. To understand how the human brain maintains multiple items in memory, we examined direct brain recordings of neural oscillations from neurosurgical patients as they performed a working memory task. We analyzed the data to ident...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2003805

    authors: Bahramisharif A,Jensen O,Jacobs J,Lisman J

    更新日期:2018-08-15 00:00:00

  • Multiple locus linkage analysis of genomewide expression in yeast.

    abstract::With the ability to measure thousands of related phenotypes from a single biological sample, it is now feasible to genetically dissect systems-level biological phenomena. The genetics of transcriptional regulation and protein abundance are likely to be complex, meaning that genetic variation at multiple loci will infl...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030267

    authors: Storey JD,Akey JM,Kruglyak L

    更新日期:2005-08-01 00:00:00

  • A quantitative test of Hamilton's rule for the evolution of altruism.

    abstract::The evolution of altruism is a fundamental and enduring puzzle in biology. In a seminal paper Hamilton showed that altruism can be selected for when rb - c > 0, where c is the fitness cost to the altruist, b is the fitness benefit to the beneficiary, and r is their genetic relatedness. While many studies have provided...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000615

    authors: Waibel M,Floreano D,Keller L

    更新日期:2011-05-01 00:00:00

  • Correction: Publication reform to safeguard wildlife from researcher harm.

    abstract::[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000193.]. ...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章,已发布勘误

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000752

    authors: Field KA,Paquet PC,Artelle K,Proulx G,Brook RK,Darimont CT

    更新日期:2020-05-18 00:00:00

  • Enhancement of SMN2 exon 7 inclusion by antisense oligonucleotides targeting the exon.

    abstract::Several strategies have been pursued to increase the extent of exon 7 inclusion during splicing of SMN2 (survival of motor neuron 2) transcripts, for eventual therapeutic use in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic neuromuscular disease. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) that target an exon or its flanking splice ...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0050073

    authors: Hua Y,Vickers TA,Baker BF,Bennett CF,Krainer AR

    更新日期:2007-04-01 00:00:00

  • Performing group-level functional image analyses based on homologous functional regions mapped in individuals.

    abstract::Functional MRI (fMRI) studies have traditionally relied on intersubject normalization based on global brain morphology, which cannot establish proper functional correspondence between subjects due to substantial intersubject variability in functional organization. Here, we reliably identified a set of discrete, homolo...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2007032

    authors: Li M,Wang D,Ren J,Langs G,Stoecklein S,Brennan BP,Lu J,Chen H,Liu H

    更新日期:2019-03-25 00:00:00

  • Identifying off-target effects of etomoxir reveals that carnitine palmitoyltransferase I is essential for cancer cell proliferation independent of β-oxidation.

    abstract::It has been suggested that some cancer cells rely upon fatty acid oxidation (FAO) for energy. Here we show that when FAO was reduced approximately 90% by pharmacological inhibition of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT1) with low concentrations of etomoxir, the proliferation rate of various cancer cells was unaffec...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2003782

    authors: Yao CH,Liu GY,Wang R,Moon SH,Gross RW,Patti GJ

    更新日期:2018-03-29 00:00:00

  • Group IV phospholipase A(2)alpha controls the formation of inter-cisternal continuities involved in intra-Golgi transport.

    abstract::The organization of intra-Golgi trafficking and the nature of the transport intermediates involved (e.g., vesicles, tubules, or tubular continuities) remain incompletely understood. It was recently shown that successive cisternae in the Golgi stack are interconnected by membrane tubules that form during the arrival of...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000194

    authors: San Pietro E,Capestrano M,Polishchuk EV,DiPentima A,Trucco A,Zizza P,Mariggiò S,Pulvirenti T,Sallese M,Tete S,Mironov AA,Leslie CC,Corda D,Luini A,Polishchuk RS

    更新日期:2009-09-01 00:00:00

  • An unexpected sequence of events: mismatch detection in the human hippocampus.

    abstract::The ability to identify and react to novelty within the environment is fundamental to survival. Computational models emphasize the potential role of the hippocampus in novelty detection, its unique anatomical circuitry making it ideally suited to act as a comparator between past and present experience. The hippocampus...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章,随机对照试验

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0040424

    authors: Kumaran D,Maguire EA

    更新日期:2006-11-01 00:00:00

  • Feminizer and doublesex knock-outs cause honey bees to switch sexes.

    abstract::Honey bees are experts at refuting societal norms. Their matriarchal hives are headed by queens, backed by an all-female workforce, and males die soon after copulation. But the biochemical basis of how these distinct castes and sexes (queens, workers, and drones) arise is poorly understood, partly due to a lack of eff...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 评论,杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000256

    authors: McAfee A,Pettis JS,Tarpy DR,Foster LJ

    更新日期:2019-05-06 00:00:00

  • The fifth adaptor protein complex.

    abstract::Adaptor protein (AP) complexes sort cargo into vesicles for transport from one membrane compartment of the cell to another. Four distinct AP complexes have been identified, which are present in most eukaryotes. We report the existence of a fifth AP complex, AP-5. Tagged AP-5 localises to a late endosomal compartment i...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001170

    authors: Hirst J,Barlow LD,Francisco GC,Sahlender DA,Seaman MN,Dacks JB,Robinson MS

    更新日期:2011-10-01 00:00:00

  • TURAN and EVAN mediate pollen tube reception in Arabidopsis Synergids through protein glycosylation.

    abstract::Pollen tube (PT) reception in flowering plants describes the crosstalk between the male and female gametophytes upon PT arrival at the synergid cells of the ovule. It leads to PT growth arrest, rupture, and sperm cell release, and is thus essential to ensure double fertilization. Here, we describe TURAN (TUN) and EVAN...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002139

    authors: Lindner H,Kessler SA,Müller LM,Shimosato-Asano H,Boisson-Dernier A,Grossniklaus U

    更新日期:2015-04-28 00:00:00

  • Compensatory growth impairs adult cognitive performance.

    abstract::Several studies have demonstrated that poor early nutrition, followed by growth compensation, can have negative consequences later in life. However, it remains unclear whether this is attributable to the nutritional deficit itself or a cost of compensatory growth. This distinction is important to our understanding bot...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0040251

    authors: Fisher MO,Nager RG,Monaghan P

    更新日期:2006-07-01 00:00:00

  • New developmental evidence clarifies the evolution of wrist bones in the dinosaur-bird transition.

    abstract::From early dinosaurs with as many as nine wrist bones, modern birds evolved to develop only four ossifications. Their identity is uncertain, with different labels used in palaeontology and developmental biology. We examined embryos of several species and studied chicken embryos in detail through a new technique allowi...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001957

    authors: Botelho JF,Ossa-Fuentes L,Soto-Acuña S,Smith-Paredes D,Nuñez-León D,Salinas-Saavedra M,Ruiz-Flores M,Vargas AO

    更新日期:2014-09-30 00:00:00

  • Spatiotemporal coordination of cell division and growth during organ morphogenesis.

    abstract::A developing plant organ exhibits complex spatiotemporal patterns of growth, cell division, cell size, cell shape, and organ shape. Explaining these patterns presents a challenge because of their dynamics and cross-correlations, which can make it difficult to disentangle causes from effects. To address these problems,...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.2005952

    authors: Fox S,Southam P,Pantin F,Kennaway R,Robinson S,Castorina G,Sánchez-Corrales YE,Sablowski R,Chan J,Grieneisen V,Marée AFM,Bangham JA,Coen E

    更新日期:2018-11-01 00:00:00

  • Selection of motor programs for suppressing food intake and inducing locomotion in the Drosophila brain.

    abstract::Central mechanisms by which specific motor programs are selected to achieve meaningful behaviors are not well understood. Using electrophysiological recordings from pharyngeal nerves upon central activation of neurotransmitter-expressing cells, we show that distinct neuronal ensembles can regulate different feeding mo...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 评论,杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001893

    authors: Schoofs A,Hückesfeld S,Schlegel P,Miroschnikow A,Peters M,Zeymer M,Spieß R,Chiang AS,Pankratz MJ

    更新日期:2014-06-24 00:00:00

  • Short Time-Scale Sensory Coding in S1 during Discrimination of Whisker Vibrotactile Sequences.

    abstract::Rodent whisker input consists of dense microvibration sequences that are often temporally integrated for perceptual discrimination. Whether primary somatosensory cortex (S1) participates in temporal integration is unknown. We trained rats to discriminate whisker impulse sequences that varied in single-impulse kinemati...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002549

    authors: McGuire LM,Telian G,Laboy-Juárez KJ,Miyashita T,Lee DJ,Smith KA,Feldman DE

    更新日期:2016-08-30 00:00:00

  • LATS1/2 suppress NFκB and aberrant EMT initiation to permit pancreatic progenitor differentiation.

    abstract::The Hippo pathway directs cell differentiation during organogenesis, in part by restricting proliferation. How Hippo signaling maintains a proliferation-differentiation balance in developing tissues via distinct molecular targets is only beginning to be understood. Our study makes the unexpected finding that Hippo sup...

    journal_title:PLoS biology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000382

    authors: Braitsch CM,Azizoglu DB,Htike Y,Barlow HR,Schnell U,Chaney CP,Carroll TJ,Stanger BZ,Cleaver O

    更新日期:2019-07-19 00:00:00