Likewise, a number of computational models have demonstrated that constructions and the mapping generalizations that they specify are, in principle, learnable from the input without the need for specifically linguistic constraints (Allen, 1997; Morris et al., 2000). However, although these models suggest that children can learn mapping generalizationsas does the data on childrens early conservative behaviorthey do not conclusively prove that this is the case. Such a conclusion would be bolstered by studies that demonstrate actual construction learning in a controlled experimental setting. There has, however, been precious little work along these lines, and the studies that have addressed this issue have not definitively demonstrated that participants learn to associate specific syntactic positions with specific semantic arguments. Evolution of Brain and LanguageThomas SchoenemannThe evolution of language and the evolution of the brain are tightly interlinked. Language evolution represents a special kind of adaptation, in part because language is a complex behavior (as opposed to a physical feature) but also because changes are adaptive only to the extent that they increase either ones understanding of others, or ones understanding to others. Evolutionary changes in the human brain that are thought to be relevant to language are reviewed. The extent to which these changes are a cause or consequence of language evolution is a good question, but it is argued that the process may best be viewed as a complex adaptive system, in which cultural learning interacts with biology iteratively over time to produce language.A full accounting of the evolution of language requires an understanding of the brain changes that made it possible. Although our closest relatives, the apes, have the ability to learn at least some critical aspects of language (Parker & Gibson, 1990), they never learn language as completely or as effortlessly as do human children. This means that there must be some important differences between the brains of human and nonhuman apes. A fair amount is known about the ways in which human brains differ from the other apes, and we know much about specific functions of different parts of the brain. These two fields of study, combined with an understanding of general evolutionary processes, allow us to draw at least the broad outlines of the evolutionary history of brain and language.There is a complex interplay between language evolution and brain evolution. The existence of language presupposes a brain that allows it. Languages must, by definition, be learnable by the brains of children in each generation. Thus, language change (a form of cultural evolution) is constrained by the existing abilities of brains in each generation. However, because language is critical to an individuals adaptive fitness, language also likely had a fundamental influence on brain evolution. Humans are particularly socially interactive creatures, which makes communication central to our existence. Two interrelated evolutionary processes therefore occurred simultaneously: Language adapted to the human brain (cultural evolution), while the human brain adapted to better subserve language (biological evolution). This coevolutionary process resulted in language and brain evolving to suit each other (Christiansen, 1994; Christiansen & Chater, 2008; Deacon, 1992).The coevolution of language and brain can