The Evolution, Mental Health and Behaviour (EMB) Lab is based at the University of Cambridge and directed by Dr Nikhil Chaudhary. We're a highly interdisciplinary group of researchers and psychiatrists trained in evolutionary anthropology, philosophy of science, cognitive science, primatology, and medicine. Jointly, we have experience working with diverse populations across many settings, from chimpanzees and hunter-gatherers in the rainforest to patients in psychiatric wards. We have a primary shared interest in understanding the persistence of mental health problems, and associated societal phenomena such as stigma and self-diagnosis, using an evolutionary lens. We also explore evolutionary perspectives on social cognition and behaviour more generally.

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The EMB has three principal areas of investigation:

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1. Exploring why the human vulnerability to psychopathology persists and hasn’t been eliminated by natural selection; and why this vulnerability differs across socio-ecological conditions. Current projects focus on postnatal depression and anxiety, ADHD, and schizophrenia.

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2. Does exposure to evolutionary explanations of mental disorder impact perspectives and behaviour of patients (e.g. help-seeking and acceptance), clinicians (e.g. patient prognosis), and the wider public (e.g. destigmatisation)?

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3. What are the ultimate evolutionary drivers of human prosociality; and how do socio-ecology and cultural evolutionary forces generate the vast diversity in social cognition and behaviour observed in our species?