Brain, Behaviour and Evolution
Title | Brain, Behaviour and Evolution PDF eBook |
Author | David A. Oakley |
Publisher | Routledge |
Total Pages | 254 |
Release | 2018-02-19 |
Genre | Psychology |
ISBN | 1351370243 |
Originally published in 1979, this book provides students with an example of the ways in which an evolutionary perspective can rephrase and clarify traditional questions and issues in psychology. The format provides the student firstly with the minimal amount of basic information in neuroanatomy, genetics and modern evolutionary theory in a form which is readily related to the remainder of the volume. The book then goes on to consider the relationships between different forms of explanation in biology, and the role of brain behaviour students in these relationships. Finally, the reader is given an opportunity to follow the reasoning which stems from a biological approach when applied to topics in human behaviour such as learning, dreaming, sleeping, exploration, anxiety, reasoning, intelligence and consciousness. Modern evolutionary biology places man in a broader context than does traditional psychology, and this new perspective reduces our tendency to view life solely from a human standpoint. The significance as well as the uniqueness of some traditionally ‘human’ attributes are challenged by this approach.
Evolution, Brain, and Behavior
Title | Evolution, Brain, and Behavior PDF eBook |
Author | R. B. Masterton |
Publisher | Psychology Press |
Total Pages | 266 |
Release | 2019-01-22 |
Genre | Psychology |
ISBN | 1317722515 |
First published in 1976. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience
Title | Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience PDF eBook |
Author | Steven Platek |
Publisher | MIT Press |
Total Pages | 637 |
Release | 2007 |
Genre | Medical |
ISBN | 0262162415 |
An essential reference for the new discipline of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience that defines the field's approach of applying evolutionary theory to guide brain-behavior investigations. Since Darwin we have known that evolution has shaped all organisms and that biological organs—including the brain and the highly crafted animal nervous system—are subject to the pressures of natural and sexual selection. It is only relatively recently, however, that the cognitive neurosciences have begun to apply evolutionary theory and methods to the study of brain and behavior. This landmark reference documents and defines the emerging field of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience. Chapters by leading researchers demonstrate the power of the evolutionary perspective to yield new data, theory, and insights on the evolution and functional modularity of the brain. Evolutionary cognitive neuroscience covers all areas of cognitive neuroscience, from nonhuman brain-behavior relationships to human cognition and consciousness, and each section of Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience addresses a different adaptive problem. After an introductory section that outlines the basic tenets of both theory and methodology of an evolutionarily informed cognitive neuroscience, the book treats neuroanatomy from ontogenetic and phylogenetic perspectives and explores reproduction and kin recognition, spatial cognition and language, and self-awareness and social cognition. Notable findings include a theory to explain the extended ontogenetic and brain development periods of big-brained organisms, fMRI research on the neural correlates of romantic attraction, an evolutionary view of sex differences in spatial cognition, a theory of language evolution that draws on recent research on mirror neurons, and evidence for a rudimentary theory of mind in nonhuman primates. A final section discusses the ethical implications of evolutionary cognitive neuroscience and the future of the field. Contributors: C. Davison Ankney, Simon Baron-Cohen, S. Marc Breedlove, William Christiana, Michael Corballis, Robin I. M. Dunbar, Russell Fernald, Helen Fisher, Jonathan Flombaum, Farah Focquaert, Steven J.C. Gaulin, Aaron Goetz, Kevin Guise, Ruben C. Gur, William D. Hopkins, Farzin Irani, Julian Paul Keenan, Michael Kimberly, Stephen Kosslyn, Sarah L. Levin, Lori Marino, David Newlin, Ivan S. Panyavin, Shilpa Patel, Webb Phillips, Steven M. Platek, David Andrew Puts, Katie Rodak, J. Philippe Rushton, Laurie Santos, Todd K. Shackelford, Kyra Singh, Sean T. Stevens, Valerie Stone, Jaime W. Thomson, Gina Volshteyn, Paul Root Wolpe
Human Evolution
Title | Human Evolution PDF eBook |
Author | Robin Ian MacDonald Dunbar |
Publisher | Oxford University Press, USA |
Total Pages | 0 |
Release | 2016 |
Genre | Psychology |
ISBN | 9780190616786 |
"This book covers the psychological aspects of human evolution with a table of contents ranging from prehistoric times to modern days. Dunbar focuses on an aspect of evolution that has typically been overshadowed by the archaeological record: the biological, neurological, and genetic changes that occurred with each "transition" in the evolutionary narrative"--
Principles of Brain Evolution
Title | Principles of Brain Evolution PDF eBook |
Author | Georg F. Striedter |
Publisher | Sinauer Associates Incorporated |
Total Pages | 436 |
Release | 2005 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 9780878938209 |
Aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students, this textbook describes some of the basic principles affecting brain evolution. The author refers to data from a wide array of vertebrates while minimizing technical jargon. Particular attention has been paid to the ways in which changes in brain structure impact function and behavior. The volume concludes with a discussion on how mammal brains diverged from other brains and how Homo sapiens evolved a very large and special brain.
Development and Evolution of Brain Size
Title | Development and Evolution of Brain Size PDF eBook |
Author | Martine Hahn |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Total Pages | 412 |
Release | 2012-12-02 |
Genre | Science |
ISBN | 0323151531 |
Development and Evolution of Brain Size: Behavioral Implications contains the proceedings of a symposium entitled ""Development and Evolution of Brain Size: Behavioral Implications,"" held at William Paterson College in Wayne, New Jersey, in April 1978. The papers explore the relationship between evolution and development and its implications for brain size and behavior. This book is comprised of 18 chapters and begins with an overview of the brain-behavior relationship, with emphasis on the importance of brain size for behavior; the effects of genetic selection for brain size on brain substructures and behavior; and whether genetic and environmental manipulations of brain size have similar consequences. The next two chapters explain evolutionary theory and the evolution of the human brain as well as diversity in brain size. A general model for brain evolution that offers some synthetic possibilities for approaching the questions of brain evolution, size, allometry, and reorganization is then described. The correlation between cerebral indices and behavioral differences is also discussed, along with biochemical correlates of selective breeding for brain size. The results of an experiment that assessed the effects of early undernutrition on brain and behavior of developing mice are presented. This monograph should be of interest to students and practitioners in a wide range of disciplines, including evolutionary biology and clinical psychology.
Biology, Brains, and Behavior
Title | Biology, Brains, and Behavior PDF eBook |
Author | Sue Taylor Parker |
Publisher | James Currey |
Total Pages | 416 |
Release | 2000 |
Genre | Literary Collections |
ISBN |
This volume examines the connections between the evolution of the human brain and behaviour.