The Evolution of the Cortico-Striatal system in Primates

My doctoral dissertation project focuses on a crucial network in the evolution of intelligence, the cortico-striatal system (CSS), which mediates learning and the regulation of behavior, two of the most outstanding cognitive adaptations in humans. This project studies the relative size and connectivity of the CSS across primates. As specific subregions of the striatum mediate different modes of learning and stages of behavioral control, I quantify the variation of the relative volumes of the three striatal nuclei to understand how CSS-based learning and behavioral optimization have evolved in primates. My project employs phylogenetic comparative methods and fine-detailed cytoarchitectonic measurements to model changes in scaling and rates of evolution of functionally specific components of the CSS at different taxonomic levels (e.g., primate order, anthropoid suborder, human genus).

---

The Evolution of Cortical Folding across Mammals

Wiggenhauser, N.; Borries, C.; Smaers, JB. 2019. Reevaluating the evolution of cortical folding in mammals. Abstract for oral presentation. 39th Annual Meeting of the J.B. Johnston Club for Evolutionary Neuroscience. University Center. Chicago, Illinois. United States.

---

The Evolution of Animal Intelligence

ManyPrimates (in alphabetical order, Altschu, D.; Bohn, M.; Canteloup, C.; Ebel, SJ.; Hernandez-Aguilar, RA.; Joly , M.; Keupp, S.; Petkov, CI.; Llorente, M.; Proctor, D.; Motes Rodrigo, A.; Sutherland, K.; Szabelska, A.; Taylor, D.; Völter, JC.; Wiggenhauser, NG.). 2022. Collaboration and Open Science Initiatives in Primate Research. In Primate Cognitive Studies, edited by Schwartz, BL. and Beran, MJ. Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.1017/9781108955836.

---

Artificial Cranial Modifications in Northern Patagonia

Wiggenhauser, N. 2017. Study of artificial cranial modifications in prehistoric populations of Neuquén. A geometric morphometrics analysis in 2 and 3 dimensions. In El poblamiento humano del norte del Neuquén: estado actual del conocimiento, edited by Gordón, F., R. Barberena y V. Bernal. ISBN: 978-987-3851-09-4. Aspha editions, Buenos Aires. In Spanish.

Wiggenhauser, N.  2016. Artificial Skull Modifications. A study of cultural change dynamics on Northwest Patagonia during middle and late Holocene (4.500 - 200 years BP). Social Sciences Faculty. Center Buenos Aires Province National University. Unpublished BA thesis. In Spanish.

Wiggenhauser, N.  2016. Cultural variation of artificial cranial modifications in Northern Patagonia (4.500 - 200 years BP): A perspective from the Dual Inheritence Model. Annals from the XIX Congreso Nacional de Arqueología Argentina. Serie Monográfica y Didáctica 54: 1351-1359. ISSN: 0327-5868. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillio, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. San Miguel de Tucumán. In Spanish.

---

Bioarchaeology and Paleopathology of Hunter-gatherer populations in the Pampas Region

Wiggenhauser, N. 2014. Aproximations to the interpretation of the bioarchaeological record from Muscard pond, Provincia de Buenos Aires. In Entre pasados y presentes IV: estudios contemporáneos en ciencias antropológicas, edited by Castro Esnal, A., M.L. Funes, M. Grosso, N. Kuperszmit, A. Murgo y G. Romero. ISBN: 978-98725575-3-9. Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, Buenos Aires.  In Spanish.