Behavioral Lateralization In Vertebrates

Functional lateralization in the human brain was first identified in the classic observations by Broca in the 19th century. Only one hundred years later, however, research on this topic began anew, discovering that humans share brain lateralization not only with other mammals, but with other vertebrates and even invertebrates. Studies on lateralization have also received considerable attention in recent years due to their important evolutionary implications, becoming an important and flourishing field of investigation worldwide among ethnologists and psychologists. The chapters of this book concern the emergence and adaptive function of lateralization in several aspects of behavior for a wide range of vertebrate taxa. These studies span from how lateralization affects some aspects of fitness in fishes, or how it affects the predatory and the exploratory behavior of lizards, to navigation in the homing flights of pigeons, social learning in chicks, the influence of lateralization on the ontogeny process of chicks, and the similarity of manual lateralization (handedness) between humans and apes, our closest relatives.

This volume grew out of the 2nd International Symposium on Behavioral and Morphological Asymmetries, which took place in St. Petersburg (Russia) in September 2004 at the St. Petersburg State University under the patronage of the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists. The Symposium is the descendant of a satellite event with a similar name of the 4th World Congress of Herpetology (December, 2001, Bentota, Sri Lanka). While the 1st Symposium (see special issue number 3 for 2002 of the journal, Laterality) covered only asymmetries observed in amphibians and reptiles, the second one had a broader scope. Three years passed since the Sri Lanka meeting and there was sustained and increasing interest in vertebrate lateralization in the scientific community, especially in lower vertebrates, or at least, in nonmammalian models. This supported not only by the collection of talks at the Symposium, but also by current publications in international periodicals. Talks here were substantially biased towards the lower vertebrates and birds, while reptiles remained to be studied in more detail. Two important rationales were considered for the Symposium and the volume, which you have in hand. The first was to bring together topics and specialists representing different branches of the relatively broad field of research of animal asymmetries. The contributions focused on three main subjects: (1) development of structural and functional asymmetries constituted; (2) evolution and adaptation; and (3) function. Aiming for a broader range of topics, the Symposium may still show the current perspective. The increasing number of contributors (twice as many as at the Sri Lanka meeting) give at least a hope that it was indeed so. We, however, further invited authors, who although not present at the meeting itself, nevertheless could contribute to the book to finalize its shape. The other purpose of this volume is to expose Western scientists to Eastern thoughts regarding laterality, and vice versa. We aimed also to help Russian scientists with limited resources and access to the international journals the chance to publish in the Western literature. It seemed to us that this is a fine and perfectly acceptable approach, which on the other hand explains some of the unevenness in the quality and the style of the different manuscripts. Taken together, these fourteen Chapters, we believe, display a variety of the most interesting and intriguing topics within the broad field of animal lateralization, showing the perspectives of its developments. Far from complete, the volume nevertheless is a state-of-the-art book, which complements a bulk of recent literature on genetics and developmental studies of asymmetries of the heart and other inner organs, interhemispheric specialization in human subjects, and fluctuating morphological asymmetry in animals.

This book explores afresh the long-standing interest, and emphasis on, the `special' capacities of primates. Some of the recent discoveries of the higher cognitive abilities of other mammals and also birds challenge the concept that primates are special and even the view that the cognitive ability of apes is more advanced than that of nonprimate mammals and birds. It is therefore timely to ask whether primates are, in fact, special and to do so from a broad range of perspectives. Divided into five sections this book deals with topics about higher cognition and how it is manifested in different species, and also considers aspects of brain structure that might be associated with complex behavior.

No longer viewed as a characteristic unique to humans, brain lateralization is considered a key property of most, if not all, vertebrates. This field of study provides a firm basis from which to examine a number of important issues in the study of brain and behaviour. This book takes a comparative and integrative approach to lateralization in a wide range of vertebrate species, including humans. It highlights model systems that have proved invaluable in elucidating the function, causes, development, and evolution of lateralization. The book is arranged in four parts, beginning with the evolution of lateralization, moving to its development, to its cognitive dimensions, and finally to its role in memory. Experts in lateralization in lower vertebrates, birds, non-primate mammals, and primates have contributed chapters in which they discuss their own research and consider its implications to humans. The book is suitable for researchers, graduates and advanced undergraduates in psychology, neuroscience and the behavioral sciences.

"Asymmetry of the brain and behaviour (lateralization) has traditionally been considered unique to humans. However, research has shown that this phenomenon is widespread throughout the vertebrate kingdom and found even in some invertebrate species. A similar basic plan of organisation exists across vertebrates. Summarising the evidence and highlighting research from the last twenty years, the authors discuss lateralization from four perspectives - function, evolution, development and causation - covering a wide range of animals, including humans. The evolution of lateralization is traced from our earliest ancestors, through fish and reptiles to birds and mammals. The benefits of having a divided brain are discussed, as well as the influence of experience on its development. A final chapter discusses outstanding problems and areas for further investigation. Experts in this field, the authors present the latest scientific knowledge clearly and engagingly, making this a valuable tool for anyone interested in the biology and behaviour of brain asymmetries"--Provided by publisher.

Discusses brain asymmetry from four perspectives - function, evolution, development and causation - covering a wide range of species, including humans.

Cerebral Lateralization and Cognition: Evolutionary and Developmental Investigations of Motor Biases, Volume 238, the latest release in the Progress in Brain Research series, discusses interdisciplinary research on the influence of cerebral lateralization on cognition within an evolutionary framework. Chapters of note in this release include Evolutionary Perspectives: Visual/Motor Biases and Cognition, Manual laterality and cognition through evolution: An archeological perspective, Laterality in insects, Motor asymmetries in fish, amphibians and reptiles, Visual biases and social cognition in animals, Mother and offspring lateralized social interaction across animal species, Manual bias, personality and cognition in common marmosets and other primates, and more. Presents investigations of cognitive development in an evolutionary framework Provides a better understanding of the causal relationship between motor function and brain organization Brings clinicians and neuroscientists together to consider the relevance of motor biases as behavioral biomarkers of cognitive disorders Includes future possibilities for early detection and motor intervention therapies

This book is a collection of papers written by leaders in the field of lateralized brain function and behaviour in non-human animals. The papers cover the asymmetry of brain mechanisms and behaviour in a wide range of both vertebrate and invertebrate species. Each paper focuses on one of the following topics: the link between population-level lateralization and social behaviour; the processes in the avian brain that permit one brain hemisphere to take control of behaviour; lateralized attention to predators and the common pattern of lateralization in vertebrate species; visual and auditory lateralization; influences that alter the development of lateralization--specifically, the effect of temperature on the development of lateralization in sharks; and the importance of understanding lateralization when considering both the training and welfare of dogs. Collectively, these studies address questions of why different species have asymmetry of brain and behaviour, how it develops, and how this is dealt with by these different species. The papers report on the lateralization of different types of behaviour, each going beyond merely reporting the presence of asymmetry and shedding light on its function and on the mechanisms involved in its expression.