This book is discussed in Episode 47 of the Brain Science Podcast. Learn more at http://brainsciencepodcast.com/.

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Product Description

Brain evolution is a complex weave of species similarities and differences, bound by diverse rules or principles. This book is a detailed examination of these principles, using data from a wide array of vertebrates but minimizing technical details and terminology. It is written for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and more senior scientists who already know something about "the brain," but want a deeper understanding of how diverse brains evolved.

The book opens with a brief history of evolutionary neuroscience, then introduces the various groups of vertebrates and their major brain regions. The core of the text explores: what aspects of brain organization are conserved across the vertebrates; how brains and bodies changed in size as vertebrates evolved; how individual brain regions tend to increase or decrease in size; how regions can become structurally more (or less) complex; and how neuronal circuitry evolves. A central theme emerges from these chapters—that evolutionary changes in brain size tend to correlate with many other aspects of brain structure and function, including the proportional size of individual brain regions, their complexity, and their neuronal connections. To explain these correlations, the book delves into rules of brain development and asks how changes in brain structure impact function and behavior. The two penultimate chapters demonstrate the application of these rules, focusing on how mammal brains diverged from other brains and how Homo sapiens evolved a very large and "special" brain.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #496663 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 436 pages

Review
"Georg Striedter has produced a wonderful book that discusses current understanding of brain evolution. It nicely reflects recent advances." -- - Jon H. Kaas (2005) Nature Neuroscience, 8: 539

"Striedter meticulously clarifies the problems we face identifying similarities across species while giving full weight to the complexities" -- Barbara Clancy (2006) Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 29:14

"Striedter succeeds repeatedly by explicating the main principles of brain evolution without encyclopedic or dry detail." -- - David C. Airey and Christince E. Collins (2005) Genes, Brain and Behavior, 4: 272

"Striedter’s (2005) book does an excellent job of demonstrating that evolutionary approaches are not optional extras" -- - Robert Barton (2006) Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 29:13

"Striedter’s (2005) book represents an important synthesis of ideas and approaches to brain evolution across different levels" -- - A. Raffone & G. Brase (2006) Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 29:22

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Customer Reviews

Not a single "law" but a medley of casual principles...
An intelligent and compelling study by Prof. George Striedter "Principles of Brain Evolution" offers a reader an inspiring expedition through the main landmarks and principles of brain evolution and development. Full of fascinating insights and turbulent ideas, this volume may serve also as an excellent guide through the concepts and hypothesis of the brain's natural history, which raised and fell under the test of questing minds along centuries.

An Excellent Resource for Understanding Brain Evolution
Prof. Georg F. Striedter has done a superb and comprehensive job of summarizing an incredibly complex subject (brain evolution). One can detect his enthusiasm for and delight in his subject matter, qualities that make this serious work enjoyable to read.

His writing is exceptionally clear and, for the most part, accessible to the non-expert. The only thing that would have been helpful to have in addition would have been a glossary of some of the technical terms (though with Wikipedia and a good dictionary, this is not a serious problem). The bibliography and the index are detailed and thorough.

I highly recommend this book.

excellent overview
this i a very good overview of a very interesting field. I highly recommend this book