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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5881861923?omn=85945744831
Meeting ID: 588 186 1923

Topic description / abstract

Moving beyond traditional gene-centric models, in this talk I argue that traits are not fixed outcomes determined by genes, but dynamic processes shaped by interactions between genetic, developmental, and environmental factors. Drawing on philosophy of biology and EvoDevo, I emphasize the importance of developmental timing, particularly during sensitive periods when the brain exhibits heightened plasticity. Central to this argument is the concept of heterochrony—evolutionary changes in the timing of developmental events—which is used to explain key features of human brain evolution, including the prolonged postnatal development and extended plasticity of the neocortex. 

This extended plasticity is presented as a double-edged sword: while it enables adaptability and cognitive diversity in complex environments, it also increases vulnerability to neurodevelopmental disorders. I highlight schizophrenia as a case study, suggesting that abnormal prolongation of plasticity and excessive synaptic pruning may underlie its onset and progression. 

Furthermore, I advocate for an interactionist framework that integrates biological and environmental influences across developmental stages. This reconceptualization challenges the traditional “gene-for-trait” paradigm and instead prioritizes the temporal dynamics of development as a key explanatory factor. In conclusion, I calls for a philosophically informed neuroscience that focuses on developmental processes and timing. Such an approach may improve understanding of psychopathology and inform more effective, developmentally targeted interventions.

Biographical note

Isabella Sarto-Jackson is a neurobiologist and theoretical biologist. She is Executive Manager and Group Leader at the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (KLI) and past president of the Austrian Neuroscience Association. She holds a Master ́s degree in genetics, a PhD in neurobiochemistry, and the venia docendi in neurobiology. She has worked as a Postdoc and Assistant Professor at the Center for Brain Research of the Medical University in Vienna and as a guest researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology in Magdeburg. In 2011, she joined the KLI, extending her research focus to philosophy of biology and evolutionary biology. She is Associate Editor of Biological Theory and teaches at the University of Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, and the Comenius University in Bratislava. Her research focuses on interrelations between cognition and evolution drawing on concepts of cognitive biology and evolutionary epistemology that understand knowledge as a biogenic phenomenon involving all levels of biological organization. She is also interested in the processes that lie at the interface of biological and cultural evolution, particularly in the accelerating factors that have contributed to the evolution of the social brain.

Spring-Summer 2026 KLI Colloquium Series