Journal of
Physiological Anthropology

Yasukouchi ﻿
Journal of Physiological Anthropology(2023) 42:3
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40101-023-00320-9Open Access

EDITORIAL

The next stage of physiologicalanthropology
Akira Yasukouchi*
Keywords Physiological anthropology, Functional coordination, Functional potentiality, Physiological adaptation

Physiological anthropology and human biology
The scope of physiological anthropology is, in part, similar to that of human biology and biological anthropology.
Raymond Pearl first proposed the term human biology
and founded the journal Human Biology in 1929. In the
study of human biology, emphasis is placed on the population level, including biometric analyses and experimental studies. The topics covered included population
structure and vital statistics, reproduction, growth, aging,longevity, genetics, disease, and nutrition [1]. The Annalsof Human Biology, founded in 1974, and the American
Journal of Human Biology, founded in 1989, also emerged
within the mainstream of this field.
In physical anthropology, Washburn [2] proposed
the idea of “new physical anthropology” in 1951, which
deals with topics such as variations in human adaptation,
population genetics, natural selection, and evolutionary processes. Within the academic societies for physical anthropology, these studies were also referred to as
biological anthropology. The Human Adaptability Project led by Joseph S. Weiner as part of the International
Biological Program (IBP) from 1964 to 1974 globally
accelerated the study of human biology by promoting
standardization of methods and cooperation in multidisciplinary projects. After the IBP studies, Damon published Physiological Anthropology in 1975 [3], which is anotable book for Japanese physiological anthropologists.
The topics covered included the main physical factors*Correspondence:
Akira Yasukouchi
physioanthropol@yahoo.co.jp
Fukuoka, Japanof the environment, such as light, high and low ambient
temperature, high altitude, and noise in addition to nutrition, infectious disease, behavior, and ecology, for which
the practical existence of intra- and inter-populationdifferences in physiological responses had already beenverified. Damon was also greatly concerned with newand complex stresses derived from urbanization. Also,
around 1975, the interests of American physiologicalanthropologists shifted to topics related to health in connection with the outcomes of complex biological, social,and ecological factors, with less emphasis placed on evolutionary processes [4].
In Japan, Masahiko Sato founded the Annals of Physiological Anthropology in 1983, which subsequently
changed its name to the Journal of Physiological Anthropology in 2006. This is the official journal of the Japan
Society of Physiological Anthropology, and 2023 will
mark its 40th anniversary. Previous eras of physiological anthropology have been reviewed by Sato et al. [5] in1983 and Sato [6] in 1995, which covered the significant
implications of studies of Paul T. Baker, Joseph S. Weiner,
Nigel A. Barnicot, and other biological anthropologists,
as well as studies of human adaptability in the IBP. A
major topic in IBP research was human adaptability totolerate high and low ambient temperatures and hypoxic
environments at locations around the world. Sato andcolleagues, on the other hand, had commenced laboratory studies in the early 1970s using sophisticated climate chambers and evaluated physiological adaptability
to environments under various combinations of physical factors including temperature, humidity, air flow, airpressure, and light through elaborate physiological measurements. These studies included not only extreme environmental stresses, but also mild to moderate stresses.

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Yasukouchi ﻿Journal of Physiological Anthropology(2023) 42:3

Using climate chambers, physiological anthropologists
evaluated physiological adjustments in a state of acclimation but not in a state of acclimatization. In addition, fieldstudies were also conducted to evaluate the functional
adaptability to the living environment and to examine
the regional and population differences [7, 8], though thestudies were limited to within Japan at that time. Furthermore, since the 1980s, physiological anthropologists
have examined mental stresses by employing increasingly
sophisticated devices for physiological measurement
including electroencephalograph and have also sought
to evaluate emotional aspects such as empathy in a community [9, 10] and attachment between mother and child[11].
The conceptual framework of physiological anthropology since 2000 was discussed by Sato [12], who suggested
that physiological anthropologists generally begin withphysiological and morphological measurements takenwith much more accurate equipment and methods thanin the past, enabling the evaluation of individual characteristics to elucidate individual differences. Whereas themean value is simply a statistical abstraction, the variations in physiological responses are the reality. This wayof thinking is called individual thinking in physiologicalanthropology in Japan.
Physiological anthropology and human biology haveshared a focus on human adaptability to the living
environment and evaluated the relationship between
variation and adaptability. However, human biology generally emphasizes human population biology at the global
level, while physiological anthropology is interested inPage 2 of 7

physiological adaptability, especially in human-madeenvironments, through individual thinking and variationsin adaptive responses at both the individual and population levels.

General perspectives in physiologicalanthropology
The effects of living environment on phenotype throughout an individual lifetime from conception to each stageof birth, growth, and aging are shown in Fig. 1. Baker[13] proposed the eternal triangle of physical environment, culture, and genotype as factors affecting phenotype. Figure 1 shows these three factors (here called the3Fs) and the interaction among them to form morphological, physiological, and behavioral phenotypes. Originally, behavior is driven by emotional systems based on
rewards and aversion, and thus, behavior is an important consideration given that modern technology allows
humans to intentionally change their environment tominimize effort or to feel comfort. This tends to lead tohabituation. Habitual behavior constitutes a behavioral
history that largely determines long-term environmental stress. On the other hand, individual phenotypes
or behaviors collectively affect population structure or
the gene pool of the population through things such as
migration and mate selection. This in turn modified thegenetic history of our ancestors and gave rise to biological phenomena such as mutations, genetic drift, and natural selection, forming the backdrop to the conceptionof each individual. After conception, the 3Fs affect individual phenotypes during the person’s lifetime while theyFig. 1 Effects of living environment on phenotype throughout an individual’s lifetime from conception to each stage of birth, growth, and aging

Yasukouchi ﻿Journal of Physiological Anthropology(2023) 42:3

retain the same DNA. Also, the physical resources available to a fetus or infant would be partly affected by the
behavioral history of the mother [14], such as her nutrient intake [15, 16] and time-dependent daily activities
forming circadian rhythms [17], for example. Phenotypes
during growth would be modified in part by developmental adaptations as proposed by Frisancho [18], which promote fitness in the living environment before reaching
adulthood. For example, the residual volume of the lungs,
the number of active sweat glands, the ratios of white andbrown adipose tissue, and the ratios of fast- and slowtwitch muscle fibers might be shaped primarily after
birth as developmental adaptations that might arise frominteractions between genes and the environment. The
3Fs and the time factor of aging (or, at a molecular level,changes in DNA methylation) together with behavioral
history affect phenotypes in the elderly in part due to epigenomic factors [19]. In general, epigenetics is importantto keep in mind when investigating phenotypic adjustments that occur during a lifetime.
Physiological anthropologists are interested in functional responses to stresses encountered in the living
environment. These stresses generally depend on an individual’s behavioral history in a given living environment(e.g., habitually avoiding severe stresses or easing stresses
by means of modern conveniences). Functional adjustments resulting from physiological and related morphological features should be evaluated in terms of whether
they are adaptive. When plastic changes in the efficiency
and tolerance of physiological functions contribute tobenefits in daily activities and survival, the adjustments
can be regarded as adaptive responses.

A conceptual framework of functional coordinationand functional potentiality
The plasticity of physiological adjustments is affectedby behavioral history via the physical and cultural environments, and differences in behavioral history would
affect the degree of plasticity. The resulting variationsin the adjustments would at least consist of differencesin functional coordination and functional potentiality.
These differences are the focus of physiological anthropologists for evaluating physiological adaptation. The
main physiological functions related to survival are
work capacity and homeostasis accommodated by thecoordination of hierarchical lower-level functions, forexample, from the molecular level to respiratory andcirculatory functions that shape the cardio-respiratory
system. In addition, there is, for example, reciprocal
control between the sympathetic and parasympathetic
autonomic nervous systems to accommodate particular
tissues or organs, as well as motor neuronal and hormonal controls that work together to form an integrated

Page 3 of 7

system for the coordination of the whole body. In termsof body temperature regulation, the body responds toheat or cold stress via the coordinated functional system comprising vascular control, heat production,
sweating, and other functions. A degree of acclimatization would be determined mainly by the differencesin environmental conditions and individual behavioral
history inducing variation in functional changes.
When there is an increase in the frequency of severe
stress beyond the stress experienced in daily life overa long period of time, acclimation or acclimatization
progresses and modifies the related functional system,
resulting in a new set of functional patterns enhancing efficiency and stress tolerance. It is likely that whenpeople raised in Japan move to a much colder region
such as Alaska and stay there for a long time, newly
improved non-shivering heat production adds to theordinary functional system that is itself modified at thesame time, resulting in the formation of a new coordinated pattern. This acclimatization enhances cold tolerance related to survival. There are two main means ofadaptive adjustment—one is modifying the ability totolerate a fatal state under maximal stress (resistanceadaptation), and another is modifying functional efficiency against mild or moderate stress (capacity adaptation) [20].
Another important aspect to be considered is functional potentiality, which exists when functional capacity and functional efficiency are reversible with plasticity.
Maximal oxygen intake is a limiting factor in physicalwork capacity but can be increased within genetic/epigenetic/limits by repeated physical training and decreases
again when physical training is stopped. As for functional
efficiency, physical exercise increases cardiac output by
increasing the product of stroke volume and heart rate
in a coordinated response. Increased cardiac output isdetermined partly by the increase in heart rate and partly
by the increase in stroke volume under mild to moderateloads, while increased heart rate is the dominant factor,
with stroke volume almost a maximum, under moderate to maximal load. During physical exercise with a
gradually increasing load, better functional efficiency is
kept when cardiac output is increased through increases
in both stroke volume and heart rate than through anincrease in heart rate alone. In other words, efficiency
is higher during mild to moderate exercise than during
moderate to severe exercise. The critical load at which theincrease of heart rate becomes dominant is increased byrepeated physical training. A new combination of strokevolume and heart rate with higher efficiency at higher
physical load shows improvement in cardiovascular tolerance or maximal oxygen intake. Such adjustments canbe regarded as an adaptive response in terms of physicalYasukouchi ﻿Journal of Physiological Anthropology(2023) 42:3

fitness. This could be caused by the new manifestationof a potential function, in other words, the activation ofreserved capacity.
In general, a degree of potentiality also depends on themagnitude, frequency, and duration of stresses induced
by environmental conditions and related behavioral history. If biologically innate maximal capacity was more orless constant, this would imply that manifested functions
and potential functions would be two sides of the same
coin [21–24].

Evaluation of physiological adaptability
to the modern environment
It is said that human biological adaptability was established during the hunter-gatherer age of the Paleolithic,
which occupied more than 95% of our existence, but wenow live in a much different environment. Nevertheless,our biological adaptability is fundamentally the same
now as it was in the past.
Physiological anthropologists are deeply interested
in the evaluation of functional responses to the modern
environment created by highly advanced science andtechnology that our ancestors never experienced. The
discrepancy between the two environments pushes us
forward to reevaluate the relationship between functional
adjustments to current stress and adaptability to it. In
humans, upright posture and bipedalism are adaptations
enabling long-distance hunts, but many contemporary
humans do sedentary office work all day, which tends tocause low back pain and decreased skeletal muscle massand strength. We are likely to use air conditioning tomaintain thermal comfort throughout the day, regardlessof the season or our geographical location, which might
weaken heat and cold tolerances. Also, artificial lighting
can illuminate our entire living environment, even deep
into the night if we like, thereby affecting our biologicalrhythms and leading to problems such as delayed sleep
phase disorder and insufficient sleep. A physiologicalbasis for this is called non-image-forming responses tolight [25], which might induce sleep disorder, depression, and other diseases [26, 27]. Regarding the effects of
behavioral history in daily life, Maeda et al. [28] reported
that people who tend to eat between meals exhibit alower basal metabolic rate (BMR) and that people withlower physical activity also exhibit a lower BMR. People
with a lower BMR due to such a behavioral history show
lower tolerance to cold stress [29].
Small but long-lasting stresses, or invisible stresses
coming from the modern environment, were less common in the past and significantly affect intrinsic functional adjustments. This means that the invisible stresses
might not only weaken functional adaptability (or enlarge
functional potentiality) but also cause disharmony due

Page 4 of 7

to the adjustments, such as a delayed circadian rhythm
phase. With many people living a modern lifestyle, therange of variations is becoming smaller with fewer physical stresses, and the biological meaning of variations has
to be reconsidered with special reference to mismatchedstresses such as lighting at night and the use of air conditioning across all seasons. Such invisible stresses haveseldom been observed before to evaluate physiological
adaptability. For this reason, physiological anthropologists also focus on individual behavioral history because
a person intentionally chooses modern conveniences andartificially changes the living environment independentof natural conditions.
In light of the above, the Japan Society of Physiological
Anthropology (JSPA) has stated that “Rapid advances inscience and technology are having a profound effect on
the human community, in terms of not only lifestyle andculture but the physiological capabilities of the humanbody as well.” cited by the website of JSPA.

Applied studies of physiological anthropology
One feature of physiological anthropology is joint
research with the manufacturing industry from the early
1990s. As described above, studies in this field haveinvestigated functional adaptability to a modern living
environment, particularly identifying the effects of invisible or unperceived stresses. The outcomes of these studies should be put into practical use. In the 1990s, someindustries fortunately became aware and suspected that
innovative technological advances might cause somekinds of problems in human beings. For industries thatprovide many kinds of products that are brought into aliving environment, joint research is a useful way to contribute to the creation of a human-centric environment.
Such applied studies have investigated factors including
temperature, light, sound [30], odors [31], and texturesof materials [32–34]. There are studies not only on negative effects but also on positive effects such as the ability
to recover from problems and to be comfortable without
invisible stresses [35, 36].
Many applied studies have been conducted in collaboration with industry in regard to thermal conditions[37] and lighting conditions [38]. The following presents
an example of a study on lighting conditions with home
appliances. Lighting conditions are an important factor in
the office environment because the illuminance and color
temperature (light color) of light sources and the timing
and duration of light exposure affect arousal level, autonomic nervous system tone, hormonal secretions, theimmune system, and biological rhythms through the retinohypothalamic tract [39] and then affect productivity as
well. Recently, almost all light sources have been replacedwith light-emitting diodes, enabling precise control ofYasukouchi ﻿Journal of Physiological Anthropology(2023) 42:3

illuminance levels and color temperature throughout
the day. In joint research with industry, it was demonstrated that conditions of higher illuminance and higher(cooler) color temperature in the morning and lower
illuminance and lower (warmer) color temperature from
1 h after lunch would better maintain circadian rhythm
and arousal level as well as productivity during the daytime in comparison with constant lighting conditions.
This was demonstrated through measurements of eventrelated potential, heart rate variability, melatonin secretion, rectal temperature, and reaction time [40]. This typeof lighting system has now been implemented into living
environments for practical use [41].
Recent applied studies have been conducted not only
for physio-anthropological evaluation of products themselves but also to search for and create new research
themes that will be relevant to society in the near future.

The next stage of physiological anthropology
Experiments in the laboratory were necessary for elucidating functional efficiency and tolerance throughaccurate physiological measurements. Physiologicalanthropologists have been acutely aware that experimental studies alone are not enough to evaluate realistic functional adaptability in humans because of small sample
sizes with participants mostly limited to healthy young
adults. The experimental conditions are also controlled ina climate chamber with only a single factor changed while
the other variables are kept constant, which is much different from real-world conditions. Therefore, the resultsof experimental studies need to be verified in field studies. Recently, some work has been done to link field studies to laboratory results [42, 43].
In the next stage of physiological anthropology, fieldstudies linked with experimental results should be carried out with three objectives in mind. The first is theverification of experimental results. The second is theinvestigation of how the plasticity of functional adjustments is derived from interactions between genes andthe environment, as well as the investigation of the mechanism of predicted adaptations, developmental adaptations, and decline due to aging. Rapid changes in themodern environment due to technological and culturalchanges occurring rapidly, even within a generation, willaffect the biological aspects of fetuses and infants including their body growth, for example. Recently, Japanesewomen have experienced social pressure to diet in orderto stay slim during pregnancy, which might affect the
metabolic systems of the fetus [44]. Meanwhile, extended
use of air conditioning during the summer or in tropicalregions might affect the number of active sweat glands
in infants. Children nowadays tend to stay indoors andhave less exposure to sunlight, causing higher sensitivity

Page 5 of 7

to light, so lighting at night might exacerbate the effects
on their circadian rhythm, sleep, and other non-imageforming responses, and these effects might be muchstronger in children than in adults because of the higher
light transmittance of the crystalline lens during childhood [45]. These examples show that we must study how
rapid changes in technology and culture within a generation affect children and their growth through predicted
and developmental adaptations. Also today, people havegreater longevity than ever before, and advances in technology will also greatly affect the lifestyle of the elderly.
Going forward, physiological anthropologists should
examine the validity of innate functional adaptability to
the environment as well as individual and population differences from the perspective of epigenetics and seek to
elucidate environmental effects and their changes overtime as seen in secular trends.
To date, physiological anthropologists have put lessemphasis on population adaptation. The third area where
field studies are needed is the relationship between functional adjustments and mental and physical stresses in agiven environment and genotype, approached from theperspective of evaluating population adaptation. Suchphysio-anthropological studies would be challenging, butwork is now underway.
In 2013, Higuchi et al. [46] found that the pupillary lightreflex associated with melanopsin gene polymorphisms
exhibited a significant interaction between the 1394T
genotype (TT versus TC+CC) and pupil size according
to illuminance level. Pupil size was significantly smallerin participants with the C allele than in those with the
TT genotype at a higher illuminance level. It was also
found that the C allele frequency of 1394T was greater inthe European population than in the Asian population,
including Japan, according to the database of the international HapMap Project, suggesting that one cause might
be that the European population has higher intraocular
stray light due to lighter pigmentation of the iris [47].
According to a study by Akiyama et al. [48] in 2017, oneof the three haplotypes of the PER2 clock gene was significantly associated with sensitivity to light-induced
melatonin suppression at night. They speculated thatlow sensitivity was the ancestral type and that relatively
higher sensitivity has spread worldwide since the early
human migration out of Africa, as judged from data on
global haplotype frequencies. These data are not enoughto verify functional adaptation at the population level andevolutionary significance. Further studies are now ongoing to address functional adjustment to the daily environment in association with genotype.
The following three objectives should be pursued forlinking laboratory and field studies: (1) field studies verifying the results of laboratory studies and vice versa; (2)Yasukouchi ﻿Journal of Physiological Anthropology(2023) 42:3

studies of functional adjustment dealing with non-plasticity, which might be related to predicted and developmental adaptation as well as aging and dealing withplasticity related adaptive responses to many kinds ofenvironmental stresses, which could be examined fromthe perspective of epigenetics; and (3) functional adjustment at the population level evaluated by identifying
beneficial genotype variants for functional responses andthe gene frequency and distributions. Other targets ofstudy will of course be needed, but these three objectives
should be prioritized. Linking laboratory and field studies will contribute to elucidating individual adaptability
with reference to individual survival in terms of functional efficiency and tolerance to environmental stresses,
as well as population adaptability with reference to theability to leave offspring as evaluated by the frequency ofgene-related beneficial functions with respect to the living environment.
Author’s contributions
The author read and approved the final manuscript.

Declarations
Competing interests
The author declares that there are no competing interests.

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