Felipe Martinez | Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile (original) (raw)
Papers by Felipe Martinez
Current Biology
The southernmost regions of South America harbor some of the earliest evidence of human presence ... more The southernmost regions of South America harbor some of the earliest evidence of human presence in the Americas. However, connections with the rest of the continent and the contextualization of present-day indigenous ancestries remain poorly resolved. In this study, we analyze the genetic ancestry of one of the largest indigenous groups in South America: the Mapuche. We generate genome-wide data from 64 participants from three Mapuche populations in Southern Chile: Pehuenche, Lafkenche, and Huilliche. Broadly, we describe three main ancestry blocks with a common origin, which characterize the Southern Cone, the Central Andes, and Amazonia. Within the Southern Cone, ancestors of the Mapuche lineages differentiated from those of the Far South during the Middle Holocene and did not experience further migration waves from the north. We find that the deep genetic split between the Central and Southern Andes is followed by instances of gene flow, which may have accompanied the southward spread of cultural traits from the Central Andes, including crops and loanwords from Quechua into Mapudungun (the language of the Mapuche). Finally, we report close genetic relatedness between the three populations analyzed, with the Huilliche characterized additionally by intense recent exchanges with the Far South. Our findings add new perspectives on the genetic (pre)history of South America, from the first settlement through to the present-day indigenous presence. Follow-up fieldwork took these results back to the indigenous communities to contextualize the genetic narrative alongside indigenous knowledge and perspectives.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
The analyses of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and oxygen (δ18O) in... more The analyses of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and oxygen (δ18O) in animal tissues are powerful tools for reconstructing the feeding behavior of individual animals and characterizing trophic interactions in food webs. Of these biomaterials, tooth enamel is the hardest, most mineralized vertebrate tissue and therefore least likely to be affected by chemical alteration (i.e., its isotopic composition can be preserved over millions of years), making it an important and widely available archive for biologists and paleontologists. Here, we present the first combined measurements of δ13C, δ15N, and δ18O in enamel from the teeth of modern fauna (herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores) from the well-studied ecosystem of Gorongosa National Park (GNP) in central Mozambique. We use two novel methods to produce high-precision stable isotope enamel data: (i) the “oxidation-denitrification method,”which permits the measurement of mineral-bound organic nitrogen in toot...
Frontiers in Genetics, 2022
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021
BMC Ecology and Evolution
Background Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique hosts a large population of baboons, numbering o... more Background Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique hosts a large population of baboons, numbering over 200 troops. Gorongosa baboons have been tentatively identified as part of Papio ursinus on the basis of previous limited morphological analysis and a handful of mitochondrial DNA sequences. However, a recent morphological and morphometric analysis of Gorongosa baboons pinpointed the occurrence of several traits intermediate between P. ursinus and P. cynocephalus, leaving open the possibility of past and/or ongoing gene flow in the baboon population of Gorongosa National Park. In order to investigate the evolutionary history of baboons in Gorongosa, we generated high and low coverage whole genome sequence data of Gorongosa baboons and compared it to available Papio genomes. Results We confirmed that P. ursinus is the species closest to Gorongosa baboons. However, the Gorongosa baboon genomes share more derived alleles with P. cynocephalus than P. ursinus does, but no recent gene flow ...
Nature Communications, 2015
Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 2020
Revista médica de Chile, 2019
Journal of Human Evolution, 2019
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2019
Frontiers in genetics, 2018
Recent research in psychiatric genetics has led to a move away from simple diathesis-stress model... more Recent research in psychiatric genetics has led to a move away from simple diathesis-stress models to more complex models of psychopathology incorporating a focus on gene-environment interactions and epigenetics. Our increased understanding of the way biology encodes the impact of life events on organisms has also generated more sophisticated theoretical models concerning the molecular processes at the interface between "nature" and "nurture." There is also increasing consensus that psychotherapy entails a specific type of learning in the context of an emotional relationship (i.e., the therapeutic relationship) that may also lead to epigenetic modifications across different therapeutic treatment modalities. This paper provides a systematic review of this emerging body of research. It is concluded that, although the evidence is still limited at this stage, extant research does indeed suggest that psychotherapy may be associated with epigenetic changes. Furthermore...
Nature Communications, 2015
Identifying the ancestral components of genomes of admixed individuals helps uncovering the genet... more Identifying the ancestral components of genomes of admixed individuals helps uncovering the genetic basis of diseases and understanding the demographic history of populations. We estimate local ancestry on 313 Chileans and assess the contribution from three continental populations. The distribution of ancestry block-length suggests an average admixing time around 10 generations ago. Sex-chromosome analyses confirm imbalanced contribution of European men and Native-American women. Previously known genes under selection contain SNPs showing large difference in allele frequencies. Furthermore, we show that assessing ancestry is harder at SNPs with higher recombination rates and easier at SNPs with large difference in allele frequencies at the ancestral populations. Two observations, that African ancestry proportions systematically decrease from North to South, and that European ancestry proportions are highest in central regions, show that the genetic structure of Chileans is under the influence of a diffusion process leading to an ancestry gradient related to geography.
Evolutionary Anthropology, 2020
Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique offers an unparalleled setting for the study of pri... more Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique offers an unparalleled setting for the study of primate adaptations to complex and highly dynamic environments. Located at the southern end of the East African Rift System, Gorongosa hosts a mosaic of forests, woodlands, grasslands, swamps, rivers, and a major lake, Lake Urema, which fluctuates extensively with the seasonal cycles. Renowned biologist E.O. Wilson has described Gorongosa as “ecologically the most diverse park in the world”. The park is home to five species of nonhuman primates, among them 219 troops of baboons, whose phenotypic diversity suggests an extended history of admixture between chacmas (Papio ursinus) and yellow baboons (P. cynocephalus). With its dynamic mix of environments in the African Rift Valley, and highly adaptable primates, Gorongosa brings to mind the vegetation mosaics in which Pliocene and Pleistocene hominins evolved. Gorongosa thus provided an ideal setting to bring together a broad interdisciplinary group of scientists to discuss “New perspectives on primate adaptations to complex environments and implications for early human evolution.” The occasion was a workshop funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and hosted by Gorongosa National Park on 23-25 July 2019. The Wenner-Gren Foundation has sponsored about 165 symposia and workshops over the past 67 years, but this was only the third time such an event was held in Africa. The workshop included 36 researchers and students (from 20 institutions in 11 countries) with expertise in primatology, zoology, natural history, ecology, botany, genetics, genomics, paleontology, paleoanthropology, archeology, and geology. The event was open to the public, so researchers, students, and staff working in the park, among them many young Mozambicans, attended the workshop and participated in the discussions. Holding such an event in Mozambique was a milestone for a country with great potential in primatology, paleontology, and paleoanthropology, and allowed Mozambican scholars and students to establish new collaborations for future research and training.
Evolutionary Anthropology, 2020
Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique offers an unparalleled setting for the study of pri... more Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique offers an unparalleled setting for the study of primate adaptations to complex and highly dynamic environments. Located at the southern end of the East African Rift System, Gorongosa hosts a mosaic of forests, woodlands, grasslands, swamps, rivers, and a major lake, Lake Urema, which fluctuates extensively with the seasonal cycles (Figures 1 and 2). Renowned biologist EO Wilson has described Gorongosa as “ecologically the most diverse park in the world.” The park is home to five species of nonhuman primates, among them 219 troops of baboons, 3 whose phenotypic diversity suggests an extended history of admixture between chacmas (Papio ursinus) and yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus)(Figure 3). With its dynamic mix of environments in the African Rift Valley, and highly adaptable primates, Gorongosa brings to mind the vegetation mosaics in which Pliocene and Pleistocene hominins evolved.
Journal of Human Evolution, 2019
Most authors recognize six baboon species: hamadryas (Papio hamadryas), Guinea (Papio papio), oli... more Most authors recognize six baboon species: hamadryas (Papio hamadryas), Guinea (Papio papio), olive (Papio anubis), yellow (Papio cynocephalus), chacma (Papio ursinus), and Kinda (Papio kindae). However, there is still debate regarding the taxonomic status, phylogenetic relationships, and the amount of gene flow occurring between species. Here, we present ongoing research on baboon morphological diversity in Gorongosa National Park (GNP), located in central Mozambique, south of the Zambezi River, at the southern end of the East African Rift System. The park exhibits outstanding ecological diversity and hosts more than 200 baboon troops. Gorongosa National Park baboons have previously been classified as chacma baboons (P. ursinus). In accordance with this, two mtDNA samples from the park have been placed in the same mtDNA clade as the northern chacma baboons. However, GNP baboons exhibit morphological features common in yellow baboons (e.g., yellow fur color), suggesting that parapatric gene flow between chacma and yellow baboons might have occurred in the past or could be ongoing. We investigated the phenostructure of the Gorongosa baboons using two approaches: 1) description of external phenotypic features, such as coloration and body size, and 2) 3D geometric morphometric analysis of 43 craniofacial landmarks on 11 specimens from Gorongosa compared to a pan-African sample of 352 baboons. The results show that Gorongosa baboons exhibit a mosaic of features shared with southern P. cynocephalus and P. ursinus griseipes. The GNP baboon phenotype fits within a geographic clinal pattern of replacing allotaxa. We put forward the hypothesis of either past and/or ongoing hybridization between the gray-footed chacma and southern yellow baboons in Gorongosa or an isolation-by-distance scenario in which the GNP baboons are geographically and morphologically intermediate. These two scenarios are not mutually exclusive. We highlight the potential of baboons as a useful model to understand speciation and hybridization in early human evolution.
Depressive symptomatology and psychological well-being among Chilean university students. Revista Médica de Chile, 2019
Quality of life and psychological well-being are readily hampered by depression. The changes that... more Quality of life and psychological well-being are readily hampered by depression. The changes that students face during college life impact their psychological health and well-being, including the emergence of mental health problems like depression. To determine the relationship between depressive symptoms, sociodemographic parameters and psychological well-being in undergraduate university students. Five hundred eighty university students of both sexes, from the Metropolitan and IX Regions of Chile answered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-IA) and the Ryff's psychological well-being scale. Twenty eight percent of respondents had clinically significant depressive symptoms, and these were more frequent in women. There was an inverse and statistically significant relationship between psychological well-being and depressive symptoms. This fact was especially marked in dimensions of autonomy, positive relationships with others and purpose in life. There is a high frequency of depressive symptoms among these students. We discuss whether psychological well-being and depressive symptomatology represent two extremes within a continuum or they are two independent dimensions that can account for differential causal mechanisms linked to mental health and illness.
Frontiers in Genetics, 2018
Recent research in psychiatric genetics has led to a move away from simple diathesis-stress model... more Recent research in psychiatric genetics has led to a move away from simple diathesis-stress models to more complex models of psychopathology incorporating a focus on gene–environment interactions and epigenetics. Our increased understanding of the way biology encodes the impact of life events on organisms has also generated more sophisticated theoretical models concerning the molecular processes at the interface between “nature” and “nurture.” There is also increasing consensus that psychotherapy entails a specific type of learning in the context of an emotional relationship (i.e., the therapeutic relationship) that may also lead to epigenetic modifications across different therapeutic treatment modalities. This paper provides a systematic review of this emerging body of research. It is concluded that, although the evidence is still limited at this stage, extant research does indeed suggest that psychotherapy may be associated with epigenetic changes. Furthermore, it is argued that epigenetic studies may play a key role in the identification of biomarkers implicated in vulnerability for psychopathology, and thus may improve diagnosis and open up future research opportunities regarding the mechanism of action of psychotropic drugs as well as psychotherapy. We review evidence suggesting there may be important individual differences in susceptibility to environmental input, including psychotherapy. In addition, given that there is increasing evidence for the transgenerational transmission of epigenetic modifications in animals and humans exposed to trauma and adversity, epigenetic changes produced by psychotherapy may also potentially be passed on to the next generation, which opens up new perspective for prevention science. We conclude this paper stressing the limitations of current research and by proposing a set of recommendations for future research in this area.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2019
The East African Rift System (EARS) has played a central role in our understanding of human origi... more The East African Rift System (EARS) has played a central role in our understanding of human origins andvertebrateevolutioninthelateCenozoicofAfrica.However,thedistributionoffossilsitesalongtheriftishighlybiased towards its northern extent, and the types of paleoenvironments are primarily restricted to fluvial andlacustrine settings. Here we report the discovery of the first fossil sites from the Urema Rift at GorongosaNationalPark(centralMozambique)atthesouthernendoftheEARS,andreconstructenvironmentalcontextsofthe fossils.In situand surface fossils from the lower member of the Mazamba Formation, estimated to be ofMiocene age, comprise mammals, reptiles, fishes, invertebrates, palms, and dicot trees. Fossil and geologicalevidenceindicatesacoastal-plainpaleoenvironmentalmosaicofriverineforest/woodlandandestuarinehabitatsthatrepresentthefirstcoastalbiomesidentifiedintheNeogeneEARScontext.Receivingcontinentalsedimentfrom source terranes west of today's Urema Graben, estuarine sequences accumulated prior to rifting as com-pound incised-valley fills on a low-gradient coastal plain following transgression. Modern environmental ana-logues are extremely productive habitats for marine and terrestrial fauna, including primates. Thus, our dis-coveries raise the possibility that the Miocene coastal landscapes of Gorongosa were ecologically-favorable habitats for primates, providing relatively stable maritime climate and ecosystem conditions, year-round freshwater availability, and food both from terrestrial and marine sources. The emerging fossil record from Gorongosa is beginning to fill an important gap in the paleobiogeography of Africa as no fossil sites of Neogene age have previously been reported from the southern most part of the EARS. Furthermore, this unique window into past continental-margin ecosystems of central Mozambique may allow us to test key paleobiogeographic hypotheses during critical periods of primate evolution.
Current Biology
The southernmost regions of South America harbor some of the earliest evidence of human presence ... more The southernmost regions of South America harbor some of the earliest evidence of human presence in the Americas. However, connections with the rest of the continent and the contextualization of present-day indigenous ancestries remain poorly resolved. In this study, we analyze the genetic ancestry of one of the largest indigenous groups in South America: the Mapuche. We generate genome-wide data from 64 participants from three Mapuche populations in Southern Chile: Pehuenche, Lafkenche, and Huilliche. Broadly, we describe three main ancestry blocks with a common origin, which characterize the Southern Cone, the Central Andes, and Amazonia. Within the Southern Cone, ancestors of the Mapuche lineages differentiated from those of the Far South during the Middle Holocene and did not experience further migration waves from the north. We find that the deep genetic split between the Central and Southern Andes is followed by instances of gene flow, which may have accompanied the southward spread of cultural traits from the Central Andes, including crops and loanwords from Quechua into Mapudungun (the language of the Mapuche). Finally, we report close genetic relatedness between the three populations analyzed, with the Huilliche characterized additionally by intense recent exchanges with the Far South. Our findings add new perspectives on the genetic (pre)history of South America, from the first settlement through to the present-day indigenous presence. Follow-up fieldwork took these results back to the indigenous communities to contextualize the genetic narrative alongside indigenous knowledge and perspectives.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
The analyses of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and oxygen (δ18O) in... more The analyses of the stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and oxygen (δ18O) in animal tissues are powerful tools for reconstructing the feeding behavior of individual animals and characterizing trophic interactions in food webs. Of these biomaterials, tooth enamel is the hardest, most mineralized vertebrate tissue and therefore least likely to be affected by chemical alteration (i.e., its isotopic composition can be preserved over millions of years), making it an important and widely available archive for biologists and paleontologists. Here, we present the first combined measurements of δ13C, δ15N, and δ18O in enamel from the teeth of modern fauna (herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores) from the well-studied ecosystem of Gorongosa National Park (GNP) in central Mozambique. We use two novel methods to produce high-precision stable isotope enamel data: (i) the “oxidation-denitrification method,”which permits the measurement of mineral-bound organic nitrogen in toot...
Frontiers in Genetics, 2022
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2021
BMC Ecology and Evolution
Background Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique hosts a large population of baboons, numbering o... more Background Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique hosts a large population of baboons, numbering over 200 troops. Gorongosa baboons have been tentatively identified as part of Papio ursinus on the basis of previous limited morphological analysis and a handful of mitochondrial DNA sequences. However, a recent morphological and morphometric analysis of Gorongosa baboons pinpointed the occurrence of several traits intermediate between P. ursinus and P. cynocephalus, leaving open the possibility of past and/or ongoing gene flow in the baboon population of Gorongosa National Park. In order to investigate the evolutionary history of baboons in Gorongosa, we generated high and low coverage whole genome sequence data of Gorongosa baboons and compared it to available Papio genomes. Results We confirmed that P. ursinus is the species closest to Gorongosa baboons. However, the Gorongosa baboon genomes share more derived alleles with P. cynocephalus than P. ursinus does, but no recent gene flow ...
Nature Communications, 2015
Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 2020
Revista médica de Chile, 2019
Journal of Human Evolution, 2019
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2019
Frontiers in genetics, 2018
Recent research in psychiatric genetics has led to a move away from simple diathesis-stress model... more Recent research in psychiatric genetics has led to a move away from simple diathesis-stress models to more complex models of psychopathology incorporating a focus on gene-environment interactions and epigenetics. Our increased understanding of the way biology encodes the impact of life events on organisms has also generated more sophisticated theoretical models concerning the molecular processes at the interface between "nature" and "nurture." There is also increasing consensus that psychotherapy entails a specific type of learning in the context of an emotional relationship (i.e., the therapeutic relationship) that may also lead to epigenetic modifications across different therapeutic treatment modalities. This paper provides a systematic review of this emerging body of research. It is concluded that, although the evidence is still limited at this stage, extant research does indeed suggest that psychotherapy may be associated with epigenetic changes. Furthermore...
Nature Communications, 2015
Identifying the ancestral components of genomes of admixed individuals helps uncovering the genet... more Identifying the ancestral components of genomes of admixed individuals helps uncovering the genetic basis of diseases and understanding the demographic history of populations. We estimate local ancestry on 313 Chileans and assess the contribution from three continental populations. The distribution of ancestry block-length suggests an average admixing time around 10 generations ago. Sex-chromosome analyses confirm imbalanced contribution of European men and Native-American women. Previously known genes under selection contain SNPs showing large difference in allele frequencies. Furthermore, we show that assessing ancestry is harder at SNPs with higher recombination rates and easier at SNPs with large difference in allele frequencies at the ancestral populations. Two observations, that African ancestry proportions systematically decrease from North to South, and that European ancestry proportions are highest in central regions, show that the genetic structure of Chileans is under the influence of a diffusion process leading to an ancestry gradient related to geography.
Evolutionary Anthropology, 2020
Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique offers an unparalleled setting for the study of pri... more Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique offers an unparalleled setting for the study of primate adaptations to complex and highly dynamic environments. Located at the southern end of the East African Rift System, Gorongosa hosts a mosaic of forests, woodlands, grasslands, swamps, rivers, and a major lake, Lake Urema, which fluctuates extensively with the seasonal cycles. Renowned biologist E.O. Wilson has described Gorongosa as “ecologically the most diverse park in the world”. The park is home to five species of nonhuman primates, among them 219 troops of baboons, whose phenotypic diversity suggests an extended history of admixture between chacmas (Papio ursinus) and yellow baboons (P. cynocephalus). With its dynamic mix of environments in the African Rift Valley, and highly adaptable primates, Gorongosa brings to mind the vegetation mosaics in which Pliocene and Pleistocene hominins evolved. Gorongosa thus provided an ideal setting to bring together a broad interdisciplinary group of scientists to discuss “New perspectives on primate adaptations to complex environments and implications for early human evolution.” The occasion was a workshop funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and hosted by Gorongosa National Park on 23-25 July 2019. The Wenner-Gren Foundation has sponsored about 165 symposia and workshops over the past 67 years, but this was only the third time such an event was held in Africa. The workshop included 36 researchers and students (from 20 institutions in 11 countries) with expertise in primatology, zoology, natural history, ecology, botany, genetics, genomics, paleontology, paleoanthropology, archeology, and geology. The event was open to the public, so researchers, students, and staff working in the park, among them many young Mozambicans, attended the workshop and participated in the discussions. Holding such an event in Mozambique was a milestone for a country with great potential in primatology, paleontology, and paleoanthropology, and allowed Mozambican scholars and students to establish new collaborations for future research and training.
Evolutionary Anthropology, 2020
Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique offers an unparalleled setting for the study of pri... more Gorongosa National Park in central Mozambique offers an unparalleled setting for the study of primate adaptations to complex and highly dynamic environments. Located at the southern end of the East African Rift System, Gorongosa hosts a mosaic of forests, woodlands, grasslands, swamps, rivers, and a major lake, Lake Urema, which fluctuates extensively with the seasonal cycles (Figures 1 and 2). Renowned biologist EO Wilson has described Gorongosa as “ecologically the most diverse park in the world.” The park is home to five species of nonhuman primates, among them 219 troops of baboons, 3 whose phenotypic diversity suggests an extended history of admixture between chacmas (Papio ursinus) and yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus)(Figure 3). With its dynamic mix of environments in the African Rift Valley, and highly adaptable primates, Gorongosa brings to mind the vegetation mosaics in which Pliocene and Pleistocene hominins evolved.
Journal of Human Evolution, 2019
Most authors recognize six baboon species: hamadryas (Papio hamadryas), Guinea (Papio papio), oli... more Most authors recognize six baboon species: hamadryas (Papio hamadryas), Guinea (Papio papio), olive (Papio anubis), yellow (Papio cynocephalus), chacma (Papio ursinus), and Kinda (Papio kindae). However, there is still debate regarding the taxonomic status, phylogenetic relationships, and the amount of gene flow occurring between species. Here, we present ongoing research on baboon morphological diversity in Gorongosa National Park (GNP), located in central Mozambique, south of the Zambezi River, at the southern end of the East African Rift System. The park exhibits outstanding ecological diversity and hosts more than 200 baboon troops. Gorongosa National Park baboons have previously been classified as chacma baboons (P. ursinus). In accordance with this, two mtDNA samples from the park have been placed in the same mtDNA clade as the northern chacma baboons. However, GNP baboons exhibit morphological features common in yellow baboons (e.g., yellow fur color), suggesting that parapatric gene flow between chacma and yellow baboons might have occurred in the past or could be ongoing. We investigated the phenostructure of the Gorongosa baboons using two approaches: 1) description of external phenotypic features, such as coloration and body size, and 2) 3D geometric morphometric analysis of 43 craniofacial landmarks on 11 specimens from Gorongosa compared to a pan-African sample of 352 baboons. The results show that Gorongosa baboons exhibit a mosaic of features shared with southern P. cynocephalus and P. ursinus griseipes. The GNP baboon phenotype fits within a geographic clinal pattern of replacing allotaxa. We put forward the hypothesis of either past and/or ongoing hybridization between the gray-footed chacma and southern yellow baboons in Gorongosa or an isolation-by-distance scenario in which the GNP baboons are geographically and morphologically intermediate. These two scenarios are not mutually exclusive. We highlight the potential of baboons as a useful model to understand speciation and hybridization in early human evolution.
Depressive symptomatology and psychological well-being among Chilean university students. Revista Médica de Chile, 2019
Quality of life and psychological well-being are readily hampered by depression. The changes that... more Quality of life and psychological well-being are readily hampered by depression. The changes that students face during college life impact their psychological health and well-being, including the emergence of mental health problems like depression. To determine the relationship between depressive symptoms, sociodemographic parameters and psychological well-being in undergraduate university students. Five hundred eighty university students of both sexes, from the Metropolitan and IX Regions of Chile answered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-IA) and the Ryff's psychological well-being scale. Twenty eight percent of respondents had clinically significant depressive symptoms, and these were more frequent in women. There was an inverse and statistically significant relationship between psychological well-being and depressive symptoms. This fact was especially marked in dimensions of autonomy, positive relationships with others and purpose in life. There is a high frequency of depressive symptoms among these students. We discuss whether psychological well-being and depressive symptomatology represent two extremes within a continuum or they are two independent dimensions that can account for differential causal mechanisms linked to mental health and illness.
Frontiers in Genetics, 2018
Recent research in psychiatric genetics has led to a move away from simple diathesis-stress model... more Recent research in psychiatric genetics has led to a move away from simple diathesis-stress models to more complex models of psychopathology incorporating a focus on gene–environment interactions and epigenetics. Our increased understanding of the way biology encodes the impact of life events on organisms has also generated more sophisticated theoretical models concerning the molecular processes at the interface between “nature” and “nurture.” There is also increasing consensus that psychotherapy entails a specific type of learning in the context of an emotional relationship (i.e., the therapeutic relationship) that may also lead to epigenetic modifications across different therapeutic treatment modalities. This paper provides a systematic review of this emerging body of research. It is concluded that, although the evidence is still limited at this stage, extant research does indeed suggest that psychotherapy may be associated with epigenetic changes. Furthermore, it is argued that epigenetic studies may play a key role in the identification of biomarkers implicated in vulnerability for psychopathology, and thus may improve diagnosis and open up future research opportunities regarding the mechanism of action of psychotropic drugs as well as psychotherapy. We review evidence suggesting there may be important individual differences in susceptibility to environmental input, including psychotherapy. In addition, given that there is increasing evidence for the transgenerational transmission of epigenetic modifications in animals and humans exposed to trauma and adversity, epigenetic changes produced by psychotherapy may also potentially be passed on to the next generation, which opens up new perspective for prevention science. We conclude this paper stressing the limitations of current research and by proposing a set of recommendations for future research in this area.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2019
The East African Rift System (EARS) has played a central role in our understanding of human origi... more The East African Rift System (EARS) has played a central role in our understanding of human origins andvertebrateevolutioninthelateCenozoicofAfrica.However,thedistributionoffossilsitesalongtheriftishighlybiased towards its northern extent, and the types of paleoenvironments are primarily restricted to fluvial andlacustrine settings. Here we report the discovery of the first fossil sites from the Urema Rift at GorongosaNationalPark(centralMozambique)atthesouthernendoftheEARS,andreconstructenvironmentalcontextsofthe fossils.In situand surface fossils from the lower member of the Mazamba Formation, estimated to be ofMiocene age, comprise mammals, reptiles, fishes, invertebrates, palms, and dicot trees. Fossil and geologicalevidenceindicatesacoastal-plainpaleoenvironmentalmosaicofriverineforest/woodlandandestuarinehabitatsthatrepresentthefirstcoastalbiomesidentifiedintheNeogeneEARScontext.Receivingcontinentalsedimentfrom source terranes west of today's Urema Graben, estuarine sequences accumulated prior to rifting as com-pound incised-valley fills on a low-gradient coastal plain following transgression. Modern environmental ana-logues are extremely productive habitats for marine and terrestrial fauna, including primates. Thus, our dis-coveries raise the possibility that the Miocene coastal landscapes of Gorongosa were ecologically-favorable habitats for primates, providing relatively stable maritime climate and ecosystem conditions, year-round freshwater availability, and food both from terrestrial and marine sources. The emerging fossil record from Gorongosa is beginning to fill an important gap in the paleobiogeography of Africa as no fossil sites of Neogene age have previously been reported from the southern most part of the EARS. Furthermore, this unique window into past continental-margin ecosystems of central Mozambique may allow us to test key paleobiogeographic hypotheses during critical periods of primate evolution.
En: Madrigal L. y González-José R.,editors. Introducción a la Antropología Biológica. Asociación Latinoamericana de Antropología Biológica (ALAB); 2016. p. 442-467.
Este capítulo presenta una descripción sobre el estado del arte y debate actual respecto al orige... more Este capítulo presenta una descripción sobre el estado del arte y debate actual respecto al origen y evolución de nuestro género. El género Homo abarca un conjunto de especies tempranas transicionales, arcaicas o pre-modernas y nuestra propia especie Homo sapiens. Durante el Pleistoceno, diferentes especies de Homo temprano y pre-moderno habitaron África y Eurasia. La evolución del género se caracteriza por presiones selectivas y cambios en la ontogenia que propician la encefalización y retracción facial, junto con un desarrollo social y cultural complejo. El capítulo tiene como objetivo abordar las siguientes preguntas: ¿Cómo y dónde se origina el género Homo? ¿Cómo se distribuyen cronológica y geográficamente las especies del género? ¿Cuáles son las principales hipótesis filogenéticas? ¿Cómo evolucionan los principales rasgos biológicos y conductuales? ¿Cuándo y cómo emergen los humanos anatómicamente modernos? El capítulo discute las evidencias fósiles y arqueológicas más significativas, así como los avances recientes en paleogenómica.