CHAPTER
1
What Are the Origins of
Brain and Behavior?
TOPIC OVERVIEW
I. Neuroscience in the Twenty-First Century
Clinical Focus 1-1: Living with Traumatic Brain Injury
A. Why Study Brain and Behavior?
B. What Is the Brain?
C. What Is Behavior?
II. Perspectives on Brain and Behavior
A. Aristotle and Mentalism
B. Descartes and Dualism
C. Darwin and Materialism
Comparative Focus 1-2: The Speaking Brain
Experiment 1-1 Question: How Do Parents Transmit Heritable Factors to
Offspring?
D. Contemporary Perspectives on Brain and Behavior
,III. Evolution of Brains and of Behavior
A. Origin of Brain Cells and Brains
The Basics: Classification of Life
B. Evolution of Nervous Systems in Animals
C. Chordate Nervous System
IV. Evolution of the Human Brain and Behavior
A. Humans: Members of the Primate Order
B. Australopithecus: Our Distant Ancestor
C. The First Humans
D. Relating Brain Size and Behavior
Comparative Focus 1-3: The Elephant’s Brain
E. Why the Hominid Brain Enlarged
V. Modern Human Brain Size and Intelligence
A. Meaning of Human Brain Size Comparisons
B. Acquisition of Culture
LECTURE OUTLINE
NEUROSCIENCE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
I. Why Study Brain and Behavior?
II. What Is the Brain?
III. What Is Behavior?
PERSPECTIVES ON BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
I. Aristotle and Mentalism
,II. Descartes and Dualism
III. Darwin and Materialism
A. Evolution by Natural Selection
B. Natural Selection and Heritable Factors
C. Interplay of Genes, Environment, and Experience
D. Summarizing Materialism
IV. Contemporary Perspectives on Brain and Behavior
A. Recovering Consciousness: A Case Study
B. The Separate Realms of Science and Belief
EVOLUTION OF BRAINS AND BEHAVIOR
I. Origin of Brain Cells and Brains
II. Evolution of Nervous Systems in Animals
III. Chordate Nervous System
EVOLUTION OF THE HUMAN BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
I. Humans: Members of the Primate Order
II. Australopithecus: Our Distant Ancestor
III. The First Humans
IV. Relating Brain Size and Behavior
A. Estimating Relative Brain–Body Size
B. Counting Brain Cells
V. Why the Hominid Brain Enlarged
A. Climate and the Evolving Hominid Brain
B. The Primate Lifestyle
C. Changes in Hominid Physiology
D. Alerted Maturation
MODERN HUMAN BRAIN SIZE AND INTELLIGENCE
, I. Meaning of Human Brain Size Comparisons
II. Acquisition of Culture
SUMMARY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the structures of the brain.
2. Define behavior.
3. Explain the relationship between the nervous system
and behavior.
4. Describe the structure of the nervous system.
5. Describe the contributions of Aristotle, Descartes,
and Darwin regarding the relationship between the
brain and behavior.
6. Describe the two tests used by Descartes to
determine the possession of a mind.
7. Describe the concept of materialism as proposed by
Darwin.
8. Explain Darwin’s concept of natural selection.
9. List the classifications of life (taxonomy).
10. Describe the chordate nervous system.
11. Identify the potential cause(s) of substantial brain
growth from prehistoric time to the modern era.
12. Describe Mary and Louis Leakey’s contributions to
science.
13. Explain the difficulty in making brain size
comparisons.
14. Explain the role of culture on adaptive behaviors.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
1
What Are the Origins of
Brain and Behavior?
TOPIC OVERVIEW
I. Neuroscience in the Twenty-First Century
Clinical Focus 1-1: Living with Traumatic Brain Injury
A. Why Study Brain and Behavior?
B. What Is the Brain?
C. What Is Behavior?
II. Perspectives on Brain and Behavior
A. Aristotle and Mentalism
B. Descartes and Dualism
C. Darwin and Materialism
Comparative Focus 1-2: The Speaking Brain
Experiment 1-1 Question: How Do Parents Transmit Heritable Factors to
Offspring?
D. Contemporary Perspectives on Brain and Behavior
,III. Evolution of Brains and of Behavior
A. Origin of Brain Cells and Brains
The Basics: Classification of Life
B. Evolution of Nervous Systems in Animals
C. Chordate Nervous System
IV. Evolution of the Human Brain and Behavior
A. Humans: Members of the Primate Order
B. Australopithecus: Our Distant Ancestor
C. The First Humans
D. Relating Brain Size and Behavior
Comparative Focus 1-3: The Elephant’s Brain
E. Why the Hominid Brain Enlarged
V. Modern Human Brain Size and Intelligence
A. Meaning of Human Brain Size Comparisons
B. Acquisition of Culture
LECTURE OUTLINE
NEUROSCIENCE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
I. Why Study Brain and Behavior?
II. What Is the Brain?
III. What Is Behavior?
PERSPECTIVES ON BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
I. Aristotle and Mentalism
,II. Descartes and Dualism
III. Darwin and Materialism
A. Evolution by Natural Selection
B. Natural Selection and Heritable Factors
C. Interplay of Genes, Environment, and Experience
D. Summarizing Materialism
IV. Contemporary Perspectives on Brain and Behavior
A. Recovering Consciousness: A Case Study
B. The Separate Realms of Science and Belief
EVOLUTION OF BRAINS AND BEHAVIOR
I. Origin of Brain Cells and Brains
II. Evolution of Nervous Systems in Animals
III. Chordate Nervous System
EVOLUTION OF THE HUMAN BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
I. Humans: Members of the Primate Order
II. Australopithecus: Our Distant Ancestor
III. The First Humans
IV. Relating Brain Size and Behavior
A. Estimating Relative Brain–Body Size
B. Counting Brain Cells
V. Why the Hominid Brain Enlarged
A. Climate and the Evolving Hominid Brain
B. The Primate Lifestyle
C. Changes in Hominid Physiology
D. Alerted Maturation
MODERN HUMAN BRAIN SIZE AND INTELLIGENCE
, I. Meaning of Human Brain Size Comparisons
II. Acquisition of Culture
SUMMARY
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the structures of the brain.
2. Define behavior.
3. Explain the relationship between the nervous system
and behavior.
4. Describe the structure of the nervous system.
5. Describe the contributions of Aristotle, Descartes,
and Darwin regarding the relationship between the
brain and behavior.
6. Describe the two tests used by Descartes to
determine the possession of a mind.
7. Describe the concept of materialism as proposed by
Darwin.
8. Explain Darwin’s concept of natural selection.
9. List the classifications of life (taxonomy).
10. Describe the chordate nervous system.
11. Identify the potential cause(s) of substantial brain
growth from prehistoric time to the modern era.
12. Describe Mary and Louis Leakey’s contributions to
science.
13. Explain the difficulty in making brain size
comparisons.
14. Explain the role of culture on adaptive behaviors.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
