Hofman M.A., Falk D. (Eds.) Evolution of the Primate Brain

Elsevier, 2012. — 445 p.This volume of Progress in Brain Research provides a synthetic source of information about state-of-the-art research that has important implications for the evolution of the brain and cognition in primates, including humans. This topic requires input from a variety of fields that are developing at an unprecedented pace: genetics, developmental neurobiology, comparative and functional neuroanatomy (at gross and microanatomical levels), quantitative neurobiology related to scaling factors that constrain brain organization and evolution, primate palaeontology (including paleoneurology), paleo-anthropology, comparative psychology, and behavioural evolutionary biology. Written by internationally-renowned scientists, this timely volume will be of wide interest to students, scholars, science journalists, and a variety of experts who are interested in keeping track of the discoveries that are rapidly emerging about the evolution of the brain and cognition.Leading authors review the state-of-the-art in their field of investigation and provide their views and perspectives for future researchChapters are extensively referenced to provide readers with a comprehensive list of resources on the topics coveredAll chapters include comprehensive background information and are written in a clear form that is also accessible to the non-specialistList of Contributors
Preface
From tetrapods to primates: Conserved developmental mechanisms in diverging ecological adaptations
Genetic correlates of the evolving primate brain
Cerebral cortical development in rodents and primates
Embracing covariation in brain evolution: Large brains, extended development, and flexible primate social systems
The evolution of neocortex in primates
Lateralization of the human brain
The insular cortex: A review
The missing link: Evolution of the primate cerebellum
Human prefrontal cortex: Evolution, development, and pathologyChapter 10 - Minicolumn size and human cortex
Human brain evolution writ large and small
Hominin paleoneurology: Where are we now?
Evolution of hominin cranial ontogeny
Hominins and the emergence of the modern human brain
Neuronal scaling rules for primate brains: The primate advantage
Self-organization and interareal networks in the primate cortex
Neural wiring optimization
Design principles of the human brain: An evolutionary perspective
Primate encephalization
Evolution of the brain and intelligence in primates
Evolution of human emotion: A view through fear
Evolution of brain and language
Subject Index