The Brain and Its Role in the Phylogenetic Transformation of the Human Skull

The Brain and Its Role in the Phylogenetic Transformation of the Human Skull PDF Author: Franz Weidenreich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Get Book Here

Book Description

The Brain and Its Role in the Phylogenetic Transformation of the Human Skull

The Brain and Its Role in the Phylogenetic Transformation of the Human Skull PDF Author: Franz Weidenreich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Evolution of the Human Brain

The Evolution of the Human Brain PDF Author: Gerhardt von Bonin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 120

Get Book Here

Book Description


The Lives of the Brain

The Lives of the Brain PDF Author: John S. Allen
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674053494
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 351

Get Book Here

Book Description
Though we have other distinguishing characteristics (walking on two legs, for instance, and relative hairlessness), the brain and the behavior it produces are what truly set us apart from the other apes and primates. And how this three-pound organ composed of water, fat, and protein turned a mammal species into the dominant animal on earth today is the story John S. Allen seeks to tell. Adopting what he calls a “bottom-up” approach to the evolution of human behavior, Allen considers the brain as a biological organ; a collection of genes, cells, and tissues that grows, eats, and ages, and is subject to the direct effects of natural selection and the phylogenetic constraints of its ancestry. An exploration of the evolution of this critical organ based on recent work in paleoanthropology, brain anatomy and neuroimaging, molecular genetics, life history theory, and related fields, his book shows us the brain as a product of the contexts in which it evolved: phylogenetic, somatic, genetic, ecological, demographic, and ultimately, cultural-linguistic. Throughout, Allen focuses on the foundations of brain evolution rather than the evolution of behavior or cognition. This perspective demonstrates how, just as some aspects of our behavior emerge in unexpected ways from the development of certain cognitive capacities, a more nuanced understanding of behavioral evolution might develop from a clearer picture of brain evolution.

Paleoneurology 1804–1966

Paleoneurology 1804–1966 PDF Author: T. Edinger
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642660290
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Get Book Here

Book Description
Dr. Tilly Edinger's first published paper dealt with a brain cast-in more exact terms an endocast of the cranial cavity-of Noth08auru8, a Triassic relative of the plesiosaurs. With this she embarked on a working lifetime of devotion to paleoneurology, a field of study that she was to transform. A daughter of the famous neurologist Ludwig Edinger, it was appropriate as well as fortunate that her early interest in fossil vertebrates should have become focused upon the recovery of such information concerning the history of the central nervous system as could be obtained from fossil material. Her father evidently had no direct influence upon her choice of· this then obscure and difficult subject, although within the family circle she presumably absorbed from him some appreciation of neoneurology. Indirectly, however, through his accumulation in Frankfurt of an outstanding collection of recent brains, he provided the comparative material essential to her studies during the years she spent there. Early in her career she published Die FOBsilen Gehirne (1929). Here was gathered together for the first time nearly all the widely scattered information on the topic. It had an immediate effect. As one author justly remarked, this "invaluable review . . . serves not only as a basis for continuing and systematizing research on brain casts but also as an indication of the more serious gaps in present knowledge" (Simpson, 1933). The bibliography appended to it listed 250 titles. A bibliography she published in 1937 included 160 additional titles.

Human Brain Evolution

Human Brain Evolution PDF Author: Stephen Cunnane
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780470609873
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Get Book Here

Book Description
The evolution of the human brain and cognitive ability is one of the central themes of physical/biological anthropology. This book discusses the emergence of human cognition at a conceptual level, describing it as a process of long adaptive stasis interrupted by short periods of cognitive advance. These advances were not linear and directed, but were acquired indirectly as part of changing human behaviors, in other words through the process of exaptation (acquisition of a function for which it was not originally selected). Based on studies of the modem human brain, certain prerequisites were needed for the development of the early brain and associated cognitive advances. This book documents the energy and nutrient constraints of the modern brain, highlighting the significant role of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in brain development and maintenance. Crawford provides further emphasis for the role of essential fatty acids, in particular DHA, in brain development, by discussing the evolution of the eye and neural systems. This is an ideal book for Graduate students, post docs, research scientists in Physical/Biological Anthropology, Human Biology, Archaeology, Nutrition, Cognitive Science, Neurosciences. It is also an excellent selection for a grad student discussion seminar.

Adaptive Function and Brain Evolution

Adaptive Function and Brain Evolution PDF Author: Agustín González
Publisher: Frontiers E-books
ISBN: 2889193063
Category : Brain
Languages : en
Pages : 267

Get Book Here

Book Description
The brain of each animal shows specific traits that reflect its phylogenetic history and its particular lifestyle. Therefore, comparing brains is not just a mere intellectual exercise, but it helps understanding how the brain allows adaptive behavioural strategies to face an ever-changing world and how this complex organ has evolved during phylogeny, giving rise to complex mental processes in humans and other animals. These questions attracted scientists since the times of Santiago Ramon y Cajal one of the founders of comparative neurobiology. In the last decade, this discipline has undergone a true revolution due to the analysis of expression patterns of morphogenetic genes in embryos of different animals. The papers of this e-book are good examples of modern comparative neurobiology, which mainly focuses on the following four Grand Questions: a) How are different brains built during ontogeny? b) What is the anatomical organization of mature brains and how can they be compared? c) How do brains work to accomplish their function of ensuring survival and, ultimately, reproductive success? d) How have brains evolved during phylogeny? The title of this e-book, Adaptive Function and Brain Evolution, stresses the importance of comparative studies to understand brain function and, the reverse, of considering brain function to properly understand brain evolution. These issues should be taken into account when using animals in the research of mental function and dysfunction, and are fundamental to understand the origins of the human mind.

The Skull, Volume 2

The Skull, Volume 2 PDF Author: James Hanken
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226315703
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 580

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this authoritative three-volume reference work, leading researchers bring together current work to provide a comprehensive analysis of the comparative morphology, development, evolution, and functional biology of the skull.

The Evolution of the Human Head

The Evolution of the Human Head PDF Author: Daniel Lieberman
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674046366
Category : MEDICAL
Languages : en
Pages : 769

Get Book Here

Book Description
Exhaustively researched and years in the making, this innovative book documents how the many components of the head function, how they evolved since we diverged from the apes, and how they interact in diverse ways both functionally and developmentally, causing them to be highly integrated. This integration not only permits the head's many units to accommodate each other as they grow and work, but also facilitates evolutionary change. Lieberman shows how, when, and why the major transformations evident in the evolution of the human head occurred. The special way the head is integrated, Lieberman argues, made it possible for a few developmental shifts to have had widespread effects on craniofacial growth, yet still permit the head to function exquisitely. --

Fundamentals of Craniofacial Growth

Fundamentals of Craniofacial Growth PDF Author: Andrew D. Dixon
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1351446657
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 500

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book brings together in one volume selected important topics in craniofacial growth. Topics include: principles of skeletal growth; osteogenesis and its control; formation of the cranial base and craniofacial joints; prenatal development of the facial skeleton; growth of the mandible, nasomaxillary complex, orbit, cranial base, ear capsule, and cranial vault; bone remodeling; muscles; soft tissues; and blood vessels. Fundamentals of Craniofacial Growth contains detailed illustrations and extensive reference lists. Independently authored chapters provide comprehensive reviews encompassing both contemporary and historical perspectives. In addition to medicine and dentistry, contributors provide expertise from such diverse backgrounds as anatomy, biology, biomathematics, embryology, orthodontics, physical anthropology, and plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Ontogeny and Phylogeny

Ontogeny and Phylogeny PDF Author: Stephen Jay Gould
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674263960
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 522

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” was Haeckel’s answer—the wrong one—to the most vexing question of nineteenth-century biology: what is the relationship between individual development (ontogeny) and the evolution of species and lineages (phylogeny)? In this, the first major book on the subject in fifty years, Stephen Jay Gould documents the history of the idea of recapitulation from its first appearance among the pre-Socratics to its fall in the early twentieth century. Mr. Gould explores recapitulation as an idea that intrigued politicians and theologians as well as scientists. He shows that Haeckel’s hypothesis—that human fetuses with gill slits are, literally, tiny fish, exact replicas of their water-breathing ancestors—had an influence that extended beyond biology into education, criminology, psychoanalysis (Freud and Jung were devout recapitulationists), and racism. The theory of recapitulation, Gould argues, finally collapsed not from the weight of contrary data, but because the rise of Mendelian genetics rendered it untenable. Turning to modern concepts, Gould demonstrates that, even though the whole subject of parallels between ontogeny and phylogeny fell into disrepute, it is still one of the great themes of evolutionary biology. Heterochrony—changes in developmental timing, producing parallels between ontogeny and phylogeny—is shown to be crucial to an understanding of gene regulation, the key to any rapprochement between molecular and evolutionary biology. Gould argues that the primary evolutionary value of heterochrony may lie in immediate ecological advantages for slow or rapid maturation, rather than in long-term changes of form, as all previous theories proclaimed. Neoteny—the opposite of recapitulation—is shown to be the most important determinant of human evolution. We have evolved by retaining the juvenile characters of our ancestors and have achieved both behavioral flexibility and our characteristic morphology thereby (large brains by prolonged retention of rapid fetal growth rates, for example). Gould concludes that “there may be nothing new under the sun, but permutation of the old within complex systems can do wonders. As biologists, we deal directly with the kind of material complexity that confers an unbounded potential upon simple, continuous changes in underlying processes. This is the chief joy of our science.”