Meanwhile, other studies have found that
language differences restricted gene flow in recent times in Europe, suggesting that cultural barriers might have limited genetic diversity more consistently than occasional local bottlenecks.
It could explain why people with autism have
restricted interests — because they find only very selective things rewarding — and it could explain the
differences in
language acquisition — because the neural circuitry involved in reward learning is the same circuitry that mediates both
language learning and production,» says Abel, who also is the Roy J. Carver Chair in Neuroscience and UI professor of molecular physiology and biophysics.