The Fast Lane Hypothesis: Von Economo Neurons Implement a Biological Speed-Accuracy Tradeoff

arXiv:2604.09229v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Von Economo neurons (VENs) are large bipolar projection neurons found exclusively in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and frontal insula of species with complex social cognition, including humans, great apes, and cetaceans. Their selective depletion in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and altered development in autism implicate them in rapid social decision-making, yet no computational model of VEN function has previously existed. We introduce th