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Not all animals have neurons; Trichoplax and sponges lack nerve cells altogether. Neurons may be packed to form structures such as the brain of vertebrates or the neural ganglions of insects. The number of neurons and their relative abundance in different parts of the brain is a determinant of neural function and, consequently, of behavior.
Von Economo neurons are relatively large cells that may allow rapid communication across the relatively large brains of great apes, elephants, and cetaceans. Although rare in comparison to other neurons, von Economo neurons are abundant, and comparatively large, in humans; they are however three times as abundant in cetaceans. [3] [10]
The human brain has evolved around the metabolic, environmental, and social needs that the species has dealt with throughout its existence. As hominid species evolved with increased brain size and processing power, the overall metabolic need increased. Compared to chimpanzees, humans consume more calories from animals than from plants.
A long term human study comparing the human brain to the primitive brain found that the modern human brain contains the primitive hindbrain region – what most neuroscientists call the protoreptilian brain. The purpose of this part of the brain is to sustain fundamental homeostatic functions, which are self regulating processes organisms use ...
The expensive tissue hypothesis (ETH) relates brain and gut size in evolution (specifically in human evolution).It suggests that in order for an organism to evolve a large brain without a significant increase in basal metabolic rate (as seen in humans), the organism must use less energy on other expensive tissues; the paper introducing the ETH suggests that in humans, this was achieved by ...
Two ganglia at the head (the "nerve ring") end function similar to a simple brain. Photoreceptors on the animal's eyespots provide sensory information on light and dark. [28] The nervous system of one very small roundworm, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, has been completely mapped out in a connectome including its synapses.
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The third phase is the neocortex or the neo-mammalian brain. The higher cognitive functions which distinguish humans from other animals are primarily in the cortex. The reptilian brain controls muscles, balance, and autonomic functions, such as breathing and heartbeat. This part of the brain is active, even in deep sleep.