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The human body always works to remain in homeostasis. One form of homeostasis is thermoregulation. Body temperature varies in every individual, but the average internal temperature is 37.0 °C (98.6 °F). [1] Sufficient stress from extreme external temperature may cause injury or death if it exceeds the ability of the body to thermoregulate.
Resistance to malaria is a well-known example of recent human evolution. This disease attacks humans early in life. Thus humans who are resistant enjoy a higher chance of surviving and reproducing. While humans have evolved multiple defenses against malaria, sickle cell anemia—a condition in which red blood cells are deformed into sickle ...
Evolutionary psychiatry, also known as Darwinian psychiatry, [1] [2] is a theoretical approach to psychiatry that aims to explain psychiatric disorders in evolutionary terms. [3] [4] As a branch of the field of evolutionary medicine, it is distinct from the medical practice of psychiatry in its emphasis on providing scientific explanations rather than treatments for mental disorder.
One reason depression is thought to be a pathology is that it causes so much psychic pain and distress. However, physical pain is also very distressful, yet it has an evolved function: to inform the organism that it is being damaged, to motivate it to withdraw from the source of damage, and to learn to avoid such damage-causing circumstances in the future.
Humans did not evolve from either of the living species of chimpanzees (common chimpanzees and bonobos) or any other living species of apes. [174] Humans and chimpanzees did, however, evolve from a common ancestor. [175] [176] This most recent common ancestor of living humans and chimpanzees would have lived between 5 and 8 million years ago. [177]
The muscles connected to the ears of a human do not develop enough to have the same mobility allowed to monkeys. Arrows show the vestigial structure called Darwin's tubercle. In the context of human evolution, vestigiality involves those traits occurring in humans that have lost all or most of their original function through evolution. Although ...
Transgenerational stress in humans, as in animal models, induces effects influencing social behavior, reproductive success, cognitive ability, and stress response. [3] Similar to animal models, human studies have investigated the role of epigenetics and transgenerational inheritance molecularly as it relates to the HPA system.
Risk factors for mental illness include psychological trauma, adverse childhood experiences, genetic predisposition, and personality traits. [7] [8] Correlations between mental disorders and substance use are also found to have a two way relationship, in that substance use can lead to the development of mental disorders and having mental disorders can lead to substance use/abuse.