Journal of Physiological Anthropology

Vol. 39 Article number: 16 (2020)

The prevalence of allergic and autoimmune conditions has been steadily increasing in wealthy nations over the past century. One hypothesis put forward to explain this is the Old Friends Hypothesis, which posits that increased hygiene, urbanization, and lifestyle changes have reduced our exposure to parasites and microbes that we co-evolved with, resulting in immune dysregulation. However, research in traditionally living populations, who are exposed to greater parasite and pathogen loads such as those encountered during our evolution, is limited, in part due to a lack of minimally invasive, field-friendly biomarkers of autoimmune disorders. 

In this article, authors developed an ELISA to assess positivity for thyroid peroxidase autoantibody (TPO-Ab), an indicator of autoimmune thyroid disease, based on dried blood spot (DBS) samples. 

Vol. 39 Article number: 20 (2020)

The specific role of the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene polymorphisms in emotional support seeking, related to social norms and culturally normative behavior, has been discussed in several studies. Evidence on the association between aggression and OXTR polymorphisms has also been reported. In this study, authors aimed to analyze the effect of the OXTR rs53576 polymorphism, prenatal testosterone effect (second-to-fourth digit ratio, or 2D:4D), and culture on aggression assessed with the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ).

Journal of Physiological Anthropology Best Reviewer Award 2019 is awarded to:

• Keita Ishibashi (Chiba University, Japan)

For more information, please visit the award page.

Journal of Physiological Anthropology (JPA) is the official journal of the Japan Society of Physiological Anthropology. JPA is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes research on the physiological functions of modern mankind, with an emphasis on the physical and bio-cultural effects on human adaptability to the current environment.
Click here to read full Aims and Scope of JPA

Journal of Physiological Anthropology publishes special issues and collection of papers on the select topics of recent interest within the scope of the journal. See the list of article collections and special issues here. 

Legacy content

Articles published in Journal of Physiological Anthropology since 1996 (volume 15) are open access and fully accessible from the following link.

JSPA is supporting authors publishing with JPA by offering a discount of the article-processing charge (APC).
The discounted APC is GBP 1,270 for all authors, but if the first author is a member of JSPA, the APC for the paper is further reduced to GBP 700.
Please contact the Administration Office or visit the Society website for further information.