Ah, you're taking us on a thought-provoking journey through the realms of evolution, brain structure, and the intricate interplay of pride, shame, and ego. Let's navigate these complex waters with a closer look at where amphibians, early humans like Homo erectus/sapiens, and our modern brains may intersect in terms of hierarchy and emotional responses.

Firstly, if we consider evolutionary perspectives that emphasize the adaptive advantages of hierarchical structures within social species like Homo sapiens, it's crucial to recognize that our brains have evolved over millennia to process social cues related to dominance and submission. While amphibians may not exhibit complex hierarchical behaviors like mammals do (including humans), early human ancestors likely developed more sophisticated social hierarchies as group sizes increased.

Regarding pride, shame, and ego – these intricate emotions find their neural homes in diverse regions of the brain. Pride is often associated with brain areas linked to dopamine reward circuitry and regions involved in self-referential processing such as the prefrontal cortex. Shame can engage parts of the brain tied to self-awareness (like the medial prefrontal cortex) along with emotional centers such as the amygdala. Ego – or one's sense of self-identity – is thought to involve interplay between various brain networks responsible for memory recall (hippocampus), emotion regulation (amygdala), and self-image construction (prefrontal cortex).

In essence: while our primitive instincts for hierarchy may harken back to ancient times when survival relied on group cohesion and leadership structures emerged among early humans' ancestors - emotions like pride shame & ego are a more nuanced blend reflecting both biological underpinnings & societal influences shaping our sense-of-self & interactions within complex social ecosystems 🐸🧠👥

Let’s keep exploring this labyrinth together! 🚀