Evolution Of Brain And Behavior In Vertebrates

Originally published in 1976, the object of this volume was to present a relatively up-to-date overview of what was known, what was suspected, and what remained to be discovered concerning the general question of the evolution of the vertebrate brain and behaviour, and to present a list of references for those who wanted to delve deeper into one or another aspect of the problem. Accordingly, it contains chapters by palaeontologists, sensory morphologists and physiologists, comparative neurologists and comparative psychologists. The chapters are arranged in a sequence loosely approximating the order in which the various animals, brain structures, or behaviour first appeared. Therefore, the chapters fall naturally into sections, each section directed to a group of vertebrates, beginning with those which have very remote common ancestry and progressing to those with more recent common ancestry with mankind.

First published in 1976. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Evolution of the Brain and Intelligence covers the general principles of behavior and brain function. The book is divided into four parts encompassing 17 chapters that emphasize the implications of the history of the brain for the evolution of behavior in vertebrates. The introductory chapter covers the studies of animal behavior and their implications about the nature of the animal’s world. The following chapters emphasize methodological issues and the meanings of brain indices and brain size, as well as the general anatomy of the brain. Other chapters discuss the history of the brain in the major vertebrate groups that were known about 300 million years ago to determine the fate of these early vertebrate groups. Discussions on broad trends in evolution and their implications for the evolution of intelligence are also included. Substantive matter on the brains, bodies, and associated mechanisms of behavior of vertebrates are covered in the remaining chapters of the book, with an emphasis on evolution “above the species level . This book is of value to anthropologists, behavioral scientists, zoologists, paleontologists, and neurosciences students.

This book presents a new view on the evolution of the brain, cognition, and emotion. Around a half-century ago, Professor Harry Jerison published a seminal book entitled Evolution of the Brain and Intelligence. Since then, there has been a series of dramatic methodological and conceptual changes which have led to many new insights into the understanding of brain evolution and cognition. This book is particularly focused on three significant aspects of such changes. First, taking advantage of a new integrated approach called evolutionary developmental biology or Evo/Devo, researchers have started to look into vertebrate brain evolution from the developmental perspective. Second, comparative neuroanatomists have accumulated a large amount of information about the brains of diverse animal groups to refute the old-fashioned idea that vertebrate brains evolved linearly from non-mammals to mammals. Third, comparative behavioral studies have demonstrated that sophisticated cognition and emotion are not unique to some primates but are also found in many non-primate and even non-mammalian species. This work will appeal to a wide readership in such fields as neuroscience, cognitive science, and behavioral science.

"Much is conserved in vertebrate evolution, but significant changes in the nervous system occurred at the origin of vertebrates and in most of the major vertebrate lineages. This book examines these innovations and relates them to evolutionary changes in other organ systems, animal behavior, and ecological conditions at the time. The resulting perspective clarifies what makes the major vertebrate lineages unique and helps explain their varying degrees of ecological success. One of the book's major conclusions is that vertebrate nervous systems are more diverse than commonly assumed, at least among neurobiologists. Examples of important innovations include not only the emergence of novel brain regions, such as the cerebellum and neocortex, but also major changes in neuronal circuitry and functional organization. A second major conclusion is that many of the apparent similarities in vertebrate nervous systems resulted from convergent evolution, rather than inheritance from a common ancestor. For example, brain size and complexity increased numerous times, in many vertebrate lineages. In conjunction with these changes, olfactory inputs to the telencephalic pallium were reduced in several different lineages, and this reduction was associated with the emergence of pallial regions that process non-olfactory sensory inputs. These conclusions cast doubt on the widely held assumption that all vertebrate nervous systems are built according to a single, common plan. Instead, the book encourages readers to view both species similarities and differences as fundamental to a comprehensive understanding of nervous systems. Evolution; Phylogeny; Neuroscience; Neurobiology; Neuroanatomy; Functional Morphology; Paleoecology; Homology; Endocast; Brain"--

The central goal of the In the Light of Evolution (ILE) series is to promote the evolutionary sciences through state-of-the-art colloquia--in the series of Arthur M. Sackler colloquia sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences--and their published proceedings. Each installment explores evolutionary perspectives on a particular biological topic that is scientifically intriguing but also has special relevance to contemporary societal issues or challenges. This book is the outgrowth of the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium "Brain and Behavior," which was sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences on January 20-21, 2012, at the Academy's Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, CA. It is the sixth in a series of Colloquia under the general title "In the Light of Evolution." Specifically, In Light of Evolution: Brain and Behavior focuses on the field of evolutionary neuroscience that now includes a vast array of different approaches, data types, and species. This volume is also available for purchase with the In the Light of Evolution six-volume set.

The central goal of the In the Light of Evolution (ILE) series is to promote the evolutionary sciences through state-of-the-art colloquia-in the series of Arthur M. Sackler colloquia sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences-and their published proceedings. Each installment explores evolutionary perspectives on a particular biological topic that is scientifically intriguing but also has special relevance to contemporary societal issues or challenges. This book is the outgrowth of the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium "Brain and Behavior," which was sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences on January 20-21, 2012, at the Academy's Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, CA. It is the sixth in a series of Colloquia under the general title "In the Light of Evolution." Specifically, In Light of Evolution: Brain and Behavior focuses on the field of evolutionary neuroscience that now includes a vast array of different approaches, data types, and species. This volume is also available for purchase with the In the Light of Evolution six-volume set.

Comparative Vertebrate Neuroanatomy Evolution and Adaptation Second Edition Ann B. Butler and William Hodos The Second Edition of this landmark text presents a broad survey of comparative vertebrate neuroanatomy at the introductory level, representing a unique contribution to the field of evolutionary neurobiology. It has been extensively revised and updated, with substantially improved figures and diagrams that are used generously throughout the text. Through analysis of the variation in brain structure and function between major groups of vertebrates, readers can gain insight into the evolutionary history of the nervous system. The text is divided into three sections: * Introduction to evolution and variation, including a survey of cell structure, embryological development, and anatomical organization of the central nervous system; phylogeny and diversity of brain structures; and an overview of various theories of brain evolution * Systematic, comprehensive survey of comparative neuroanatomy across all major groups of vertebrates * Overview of vertebrate brain evolution, which integrates the complete text, highlights diversity and common themes, broadens perspective by a comparison with brain structure and evolution of invertebrate brains, and considers recent data and theories of the evolutionary origin of the brain in the earliest vertebrates, including a recently proposed model of the origin of the brain in the earliest vertebrates that has received strong support from newly discovered fossil evidence Ample material drawn from the latest research has been integrated into the text and highlighted in special feature boxes, including recent views on homology, cranial nerve organization and evolution, the relatively large and elaborate brains of birds in correlation with their complex cognitive abilities, and the current debate on forebrain evolution across reptiles, birds, and mammals. Comparative Vertebrate Neuroanatomy is geared to upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in neuroanatomy, but anyone interested in the anatomy of the nervous system and how it corresponds to the way that animals function in the world will find this text fascinating.