Evolution of the brain in humans–Paleoneurology

• Type of Material: Book Chapter
• Authors: Ralph L. Holloway, Columbia University; Chet C. Sherwood, Kent State University; Patrick R. Hof, Mount Sinai School of Medicine; James K Rilling, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2008-10-13
• Publisher: Emory University Libraries
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009
• Final Published Version (URL): https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_3152
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Encyclopedia of Neuroscience
• Edition: 1
• Start Page: 1326
• End Page: 1334
• Keywords: cerebral cortex; fossil evidence; brain size increase; evolution
• Research Categories: Biology, Neuroscience; Biology, Anatomy

Abstract

The evolution of the human brain from hominids existing perhaps 3–5 MYA (million years ago) to the present has been a mosaic process of size increases intercalated with episodes of reorganization of the cerebral cortex. The fossil evidence shows that reorganization preceded large-scale brain size increase, whether allometric or not, by about 2–3 MYA and again around 1 MYA, involving a reduction of primary visual cortex and cerebral asymmetries, including those within Broca’s region. These changes were followed by nearly a tripling of brain size.