Human beings are intensely and endlessly interested in status. The Olympics, particularly the medals, reflect a species-wide preoccupation with dominance, pecking order, excellence and failure. The entire pageant would be impossible without the dire contrast between the many, many losers and the few winners waving from the podium that raises them above the crowd.

It's deep, this desire to be the best. With his colleagues at a primate lab at the UCLA Medical School, neuroscientist Michael McGuire was able to identify the manner...