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Blogging on Peer-Reviewed ResearchProbably the most important common denominator of evolutionary theory and neuroscience is degeneracy. The degeneracy found in gene networks and the degeneracy found in the organization of brains. See e.g. 2001 PNAS article by nobel laureate Gerald Edelman. In it he writes:
[Degeneracy] is both necessary for, and an inevitable outcome of, natural selection.
In other words: if there were no evolution, there would be no degeneracy.
Therefore, creationists will have to explain why there is degeneracy if there is no evolution.

In the latest issue of ScienceExpress, there is an absolutely fantastic study by Tagkopoulos et al. from Princeton showing how evolution leads to gene-networks which are both anticipatory and degenerate. From the abstract:
We show that in silico biochemical networks, evolving randomly under precisely defined complex habitats, capture the dynamical, multi-dimensional structure of diverse environments by forming internal models that allow prediction of environmental change. We provide evidence for such anticipatory behavior by revealing striking correlations of Escherichia coli transcriptional responses to temperature and oxygen perturbations — precisely mirroring the co-variation of these parameters upon transitions between the outside world and the mammalian gastrointestinal-tract.
It is interesting to note that in the article, the authors confuse degeneracy with "redundancy" which, of course, it a very different thing. Notwithstanding, their meticulously designed simulations and experiments have elucidated how amazingly intricate and complex comparatively simple organisms can become if you allow them to evolve and that degeneracy is both a prerequisite and an outcome of evolution.

This paper joins one in Nature I already reported about. It also shows how the complex, degenerate properties of gene networks underscoring the importance of the ubiquitous concept of degeneracy.
Together, these two papers have the potential to develop into two of the most important papers in all of biology. They are required reading for everyone with an interest in evolution.

To close the loop to neuroscience: the degeneracy which is displayed in evolved gene networks is reflected in the evolved organization of brains. Different network configurations can produce the same behavioral output (Prinz et al. Nature Neuroscience, 2004). This degeneracy in the brain also leads to something not explicitly shown in gene-networks (AFAIK): the same neuronal network can produce different behaviors even under identical external circumstances (our own study on spontaneous behavior and Briggman et al, Science, 2005). It has been known for quite some time now that spontaneous behavioral variability has enormous fitness benefits and is affected in a variety of psychiatric disorders. This is now not so surprising any more. It's all starting to make perfect sense now.
Posted on Friday 09 May 2008 - 12:40:53 comment: 0
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