1. Even simple organisms such as single-cell protozoa share sophisticated behavior processes with higher-level organisms. Which of the following is NOT one such behavior?

The neuron, which supports the behaviors of the basic building blocks of the nervous system, is NOT one behavior process with higher-level organisms.

2. Around 2.4 million years ago, humans experienced a mutation in gene MYH16, which led to smaller jaw muscles. This mutation allowed us to HAVE MORE OF THE AREA OF THE SKULL TO BE DEVOTED TO THE BRAIN

3. Humans today share a number of characteristics with sea mammals. What characteristic?

Humans and dolphins share the characteristic for a brain weight that seems to be larger than what was predicted from the regression line based on body weight.

Pg. 149 

Some 500 million years ago creatures in the sea first developed the beginnings of visual preceptors that utilized light.  For low light these creatures developed rods.  For greater light spectrums these creatures developed cones.  However, these rods and cones have evolved as mechanisms in mammals eyes to collect light and visually see the surroundings.  Cones have, of course, developed to be able to perceive different frequencies in the visual spectrum, which allows for us to see in color.  Different species have developed through the years different sensitivity to different parts of the visual system. For example, humans today share a number of characteristics with sea mammals, such as having little body hair, chubby babies, voluntary control over breathing, and subcutaneous body fat.

There are four lobes. The frontal lobe which is at the front of the brain. The parietal lobe is toward the back and at the top. Occipital lobe is near the back of the brain and towards the bottom and last the temporal lobe which is on the bottom also. The temporal and frontal lobe are separated by a deep groove called the lateral fissure.

5. Brain structures closer to midline dividing the left and right hemispheres are referred to as MEDIAL STRUCTURES, whereas those farther away from the midline are called LATERAL STRUCTURES. 

6. Mammals have evolved a brain structure different from that of other organisms, namely the six-layered NEOCORTEX

7. Many neuroscientists view evolution in terms of increasing the size of the BRAIN.

8. Although our human brain is only about 2% of our body weight, it uses some 25%% of our energy.

9. It is thought that brains first appeared about 500 million years ago.

9. It is thought that brains first appeared about 500 million years ago.

10. If a particular characteristic was present in the ancestors of the group under study, it is called a PRIMITIVE characteristic; if, on the other hand, the characteristic has evolved in the group under study, it is called a DERIVED characteristic. 

11. Both bats and birds inherited forelimbs from a common ancestor, but each developed wings separately; thus, the forelimbs are HOMOLOGOUS similarities, whereas the wings are ANALOGOUS similarities.

  Describe the levels in MacLean’s triune brain theory?

Maclean proposed  that our skull holds not one brain, but three, each representing a distinct evolutionary stratum that has formed upon the older layer before it, like an archaeological site. He calls it the "triune brain"

The archipallium or primitive (reptilian) brain, or "Basal Brian", called by MacLean the "R-complex", includes the brain stem and the cerebellum, is the oldest brain.  It consists of the structures of the brain stem - medulla, pons, cerebellum, mesencephalon, the oldest basal nuclei - the globus pallidus and the olfactory bulbs.This region is usually predominant in reptiles so that is why this is the reptilian brain.

The paleomammalian brain: MacLean first coined the name "limbic system" for the middle part of the brain.  It can also be termed the paleopallium or intermediate (old mammalian) brain.

The Neocortex, cerebrum, the cortex, or an alternative term, neopallium, also known as the superior or rational (neomammalian) brain, comprises almost the whole of the hemispheres (made up of a more recent type of cortex, called neocortex) and some subcortical neuronal groups. It corresponds to the brain of the primate mammals and, consequently, the human species.  The higher cognitive functions which distinguish Man from the animals are in the cortex.  MacLean refers to the cortex as "the mother of invention and father of abstract thought".

13. Although mammals have been seen as evolving from reptiles, there are three types of behavior seen in mammals but not in reptiles. 

14. The neural networks that are active during internal processing are called the brain’s DEFAULT NETWORK which is most active when individuals are engaged in private thoughts or left alone to think about real or hypothetical events. 

15. About 14 days following conception, a process referred to as GASTRULATION occurs, which leads to the development of three different cell lines from undifferentiated embryonic tissue. 

16. Because early mammals were nocturnal, they mostly relied on

the integration of information from their auditory system with that of the olfactory senses. Essentially hearing told the early mammalian organism that something was present and where it might be, and smell told them what it was that they were sensing.

17. The nervous system of nocturnal mammals encouraged the evolution of spatial maps, which later evolved into humans’ ability to create internal representations of external events. 

19. In studies of social intelligence in primates, group size alone has not been shown to be strongly correlated with brain size; however, Dunbar did find a positive correlation between GROUP SIZE and relative brain size.

20. One approach to studying brain evolution and size examines the relationship between specific behaviors and the underlying cortical structures; this is known as the neuroethological approach.

21. In the case of humans, evolution has had to make a trade off between the requirement of walking upright and the development of a large brain; as a result, human infants need more SUPPORT  than other primate infants.

22. As a general rule, you can say that GRAY MATTER matter is involved in the processing of information, whereas WHITE MATTER matter is involved in moving information from one area of the brain to another.

23. The task of sensory systems is to derive meaning from  PERCEPTION OR THE STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS  in the external world.

24. The frequencies of light that our visual system is most sensitive to are those that are least affected when they pass through WATER

25. As primates evolved, there has been a shift from reliance on the OLFACTORY system to reliance on the VISUAL system.

26. Part of the limbic system, the AMYGDALA receives input from areas of the cortex involved in facial expression; damage in this area results in the lack of ability to detect emotional expressions, even though the person can identify the face. 

27. Although humans do not have the largest brain in either absolute or relative terms, they do have the largest number of CORTICAL neurons.

28. HOMININ is the preferred term in referring to the ancestral species related to humans because it is more precise. 

29. Homo habilis lived from 2.4 to 1.6 million years ago; it was given the name “handyman” because it used tools during its lifetime, like simple stones with sharp edges.  

30. What is intriguing about Homo erectus is that its fossils are found not only in Africa but also in ASIA AND EUROPE

31. _____ are made up of fats and proteins, and they wrap around axons like insulation does around electrical cables, resulting in increased speed of information transmission. 

32. The _____ includes regions devoted to sensory and motor processing and higher cognitive processes; it both sends and receives information from different areas within itself and to and from subcortical structures.

33. The _____ includes the hippocampus, olfactory cortex, and other related areas; one of its main features is that it does not have the six-layered structure of the neocortex. 

34. In tracing the development of primitive characteristics, Darwin reminds us to consider primitive and specialized characteristics as a TREE BRANCHING rather than a direct and single line, keeping in mind that different species have unique histories of evolution. 

36. Hughling Jackson proposed that higher-level brain structures, which evolved later than the reflexive ones, serve the purpose of inhibiting and modulating these basic reflexes. This principle is known as hierarchical integration.

37. Hughling Jackson proposed that over evolutionary time human brains have developed more general-purpose processing systems without replacing the earlier special-purpose processing mechanisms. This principle is known as encephalization.

38. MacLean suggested that our current brain can be viewed as having the features of three basic evolutionary formations--reptiles, early mammals, and recent mammals. This formulation, which is referred to as the Triune brain, suggests that our brains can process a variety of information in three somewhat independent ways. 

39. The REPTILIAN BRAIN or R-complex, which includes the brainstem and cerebellum, processes major life requirements such as breathing, temperature regulation, and sleep cycles as well as fairly structured behavioral patterns such as territoriality, courtship and hunting. 

40. The third level of the triune brain is the neomammalian brain, which includes the neocortex and thalamic structures; this level is generally associated with problem solving, executive control, and an orientation toward the external world with an emphasis on linguistic functions. 

41. BLINDSIGHT is the name given to a condition in which individuals report an inability to see objects but can accurately “guess” the location of the object; this condition is generally found in people who have had brain damage.

42. Studies on “split brain” patients have demonstrated that the left side of the brain is involved in language processing and other serial tasks while the right side of the brain is involved in spatial tasks and other global processes; this division of labor is known as HEMISPHERIC LATERALIZATION

43. Even without an external task to perform, our mind is constantly working. It jumps from one thought to another. William James called this process the STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

44. According to Humphrey, there is a dynamic tension in social groups that leads to both cooperation and competition. As individuals seek both to preserve the overall structure of the group and outmaneuver others within in, the intelligence of the species increases over evolutionary time. This ideas is known as the SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE hypothesis.

45. Researchers have found that absolute brain size is not a good predictor of mental abilities; rather, we need to consider brain weight in relation to body weight, a measure known as the ENCEPHALIZATION QUOTIENT

46. The MENTAL MODULE (SWISS ARMY KNIFE) model suggests that the brain contains a number of modules devoted to specific tasks; thus, there would be a module for language, a module for spatial abilities, and so forth

47. The depressions or fissures on the surface of the brain are called SULCI

48. When we are watching someone perform a task, there are neurons in specific areas of our brain that fire as if we were performing the task ourselves; these are called mirror cells and may be involved in observational learning as well as the development of an understanding of others.

49. The front of the brain is referred to as FRONTAL LOBE

50. When a similarity between two species is due to an independent evolutionary history, this is called analogous similarity; bat wings and bird wings are an example.

51. Discuss Hughling Jackson’s two principles, hierarchical integration and encephalization. What are the implications of these for modern humans?

52. Discuss MacLean’s model of the triune brain  in terms of both function and evolutionary history.

53. Discuss the factors that drove the evolution of larger brains in mammals. What is the relationship between brain size and intelligence?

54. Compare and contrast the mental module model with the alternative to the mental module model. In what sense do they make similar predictions?