Skip to main content

Write a PREreview

Social Memes as Neurocultural Agents

Posted
Server
Preprints.org
DOI
10.20944/preprints202602.0064.v1

The development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) enabled humans to acquire advanced communication skills, distinguishing them as highly social compared to other species. Communication emerged not merely as a functional adaptation but as a fundamental property of the human brain, facilitating the formation of hierarchies, cooperation, and complex societies. This core social drive shaped both individual and collective behavior, providing the foundation for intricate cultural systems. Within this context, memes—defined as replicable units of cultural information—developed as a complementary cultural mechanism, influencing the spread of ideas and behaviors alongside genetic evolution. Memes reflect and enhance humanity’s natural predisposition for interaction, serving as vehicles for social learning, identity formation, and group cohesion. This study examines the interplay between the evolution of the human brain, the emergence of social memes, and their role in shaping cognitive processes and societal organization. By exploring these dynamics, we highlight how the human tendency for communication underlies cultural evolution and the mechanisms through which societies create, transmit, and maintain shared knowledge and social structures.

You can write a PREreview of Social Memes as Neurocultural Agents. A PREreview is a review of a preprint and can vary from a few sentences to a lengthy report, similar to a journal-organized peer-review report.

Before you start

We will ask you to log in with your ORCID iD. If you don’t have an iD, you can create one.

What is an ORCID iD?

An ORCID iD is a unique identifier that distinguishes you from everyone with the same or similar name.

Start now