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Evolutionary Neuroscience

Evolutionary Neuroscience is a collection of articles in brain evolution selected from the recent comprehensive reference, Evolution of Nervous Systems (Elsevier, Academic Press,… Read more

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Description

Evolutionary Neuroscience is a collection of articles in brain evolution selected from the recent comprehensive reference, Evolution of Nervous Systems (Elsevier, Academic Press, 2007). The selected chapters cover a broad range of topics from historical theory to the most recent deductions from comparative studies of brains. The articles are organized in sections focused on theories and brain scaling, the evolution of brains from early vertebrates to present-day fishes, amphibians, reptiles and birds, the evolution of mammalian brains, and the evolution of primate brains, including human brains. Each chapter is written by a leader or leaders in the field, and has been reviewed by other experts. Specific topics include brain character reconstruction, principles of brain scaling, basic features of vertebrate brains, the evolution of the major sensory systems, and other parts of brains, what we can learn from fossils, the origin of neocortex, and the evolution of specializations of human brains. The collection of articles will be interesting to anyone who is curious about how brains evolved from the simpler nervous systems of the first vertebrates into the many different complex forms now found in present-day vertebrates. This book would be of use to students at the graduate or undergraduate levels, as well as professional neuroscientists, cognitive scientists, and psychologists. Together, the chapters provide a comprehensive list of further reading and references for those who want to inquire further.

Key features

  • The most comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date single volume collection on brain evolution
  • Full color throughout, with many illustrations
  • Written by leading scholars and experts

Readership

Comparative neuroanatomists, biologists and neuroscientists, post graduates.

Table of contents

Part I: AN INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY, THEORY,METHODS AND CONCEPTS
History of Ideas on Brain Evolution, Georg F.Striedter
Phylogenetic Character Reconstruction, James S. Albert
Basic Nervous System "Types": One or Many?, Heinrich Reichert & Frank Hirth
Origin and Evolution of the First Nervous System, Heinrich Reichert & Robert Lichtneckert
Neuronal Migration, Oscar Marín & Guillermina López-Bendito
The Role of Transient Connections in Brain Evolution, Giorgio M.Innocenti
Neural Wiring Optimization, Christopher Cherniak
Principles of Brain Scaling, Charles F. Stevens

Part II: THE EVOLUTION OF BRAINS IN EARLY VERTEBRATES, FISHES, AMPHIBIANS, REPTILES AND BIRDS
Structure of Brains of Primitive Vertebrates (tunicates, amphioxus, lampreys) and the Basic Features of the Vertebrate Brain, Bernd Fritzsch and Joel C.Glover
Evolution of the Nervous System in Fishes, Mario Wullimann & Philippe Varnier
Evolution of the Amphibian Nervous System, Gerhard Roth & Ursula Dicke
Evolution of the Nervous System in Reptiles Laura L. Bruce
Do Birds and Reptiles Possess Homologues of Mammalian Visual, Somatosensory and Motor Cortices? Loreta Medina
The Evolution of Vocal Learning Systems in Birds and Humans, Erich Jarvis
The Evolution of the Amygdala in Vertebrates, Fernando Martinez-Garcia, Amparo Novejarque & Enrique Lanuza
The Evolution of Vertebrate Eyes Russell D. Fernald
Vertebrate Olfactory Subsystems and their Evolution, Heather Eisthen & Gianluca Polese
The Evolution of Taste Systems, Thomas Finger
Shared and Convergent Features of the Auditory System of Vertebrates, Daphne Soares & Catherine E. Carr

Part III: EVOLUTION OF MAMMALIAN BRAINS
How Can Fossils Tell us About the Evolution of the Neocortex?, Harry J. Jerison
The Origin of Neocortex: Lessons from Comparative Embryology, Zoltán Molnár, Aniket Tavare & Amanda F.P. Cheung
Reconstructing the Organization of the Forebrain of the First Mammals, Jon H. Kaas
Captured in the net of space and time: Understanding cortical field evolution, Leah A. Krubitzer & Deborah L.Hunt
The Evolution of the Dorsal Thalamus in Mammals, Jon H. Kaas
The Evolution of the Basal Ganglia in Mammals and other Vertebrates, Anton J. Reiner
The Evolution of the Hippocampus, Howard B Eichenbaum
The Evolution of the Cerebellum, Mitchell Glickstein, John Oberdick & Jan Voogd
Olfactory Cortex: Comparative Anatomy, K Illig
Vestibluar System, Werner Graf
Evolution of Gustation, Sidney A. Simon, Miguel Nicolelis & Ivan E de Araujo
The Evolution of the Somatosensory System, Kenneth Catania
Somatosensory Specializations of Flying Mammals, John M. Zook
The Evolution of Motor Cortex and Motor Systems, Randolph Nudo
The Evolution of Visual Cortex and Visual Systems, David Lyon

Part IV: PRIMATE BRAIN EVOLUTION
Primate Brain Evolution, Todd M. Preuss
The Role of Vision in the Origin and Evolution of Primates, Callum Ross & Robert D. Martin
The Evolution of Sensory and Motor Systems in Primates, Jon H. Kaas
The evolution of parallel pathways in the brains of primates, Vivien A. Casagrande

Product details

About the editor

JK

Jon H. Kaas

Kaas's major research interests are in the evolution and functional organization of sensory-perceptual, cognitive, and motor systems, especially in primates, in the development of these systems, and in how these systems are plastic in response to injury and use in developing and adult brains. Special research emphasis is placed on studying visual, auditory and somatosensory systems, but current studies are also concerned with multimodal and sensorimotor integration in parietal and frontal cortex. Research questions are addressed with a range of electrophysiological, neuroanatomical, biochemical, and behavioral techniques. Teaching interests are in neuroscience, biological psychology, and animal behavior. Current Research: • Single and multielectrode recordings of neurons in primary somatosensory cortex of monkeys. • Optical imaging of functional subdivisions of visual cortex in monkeys. • Studies of anatomical connections of neural networks in brain systems devoted to somatosensory, visual, auditory, motor, and gustatory functions in monkeys. • Studies of brain architecture.
Affiliations and expertise
Centennial Professor, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA