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This book presents a new, detailed examination that explains how elegant brains have been shaped in evolution. It consists of 19 chapters written by academic professionals in neuroscience, opening with the origin of single-celled creatures and then introducing primordial types in invertebrates with the great abundance of the brains of vertebrates. Important topics are provided in a timely manner, because novel techniques emerged rapidly-as seen, for examples, in the next-generation sequencers and omics approaches. With the explosion of big data, neural-related genes and molecules is now on the radar. In fact, Europe's big science and technology projects, a EUR1 billion plan called the Human Brain Project and the Blue Brain Project to understand mammalian brain networks, have been launched in recent years. Furthermore, with the rise of recently advanced artificial intelligence, there is great enthusiasm for understanding the evolution of neural networks. The views from brain evolutionin nature provide an essential opportunity to generate ideas for novel neuron- and brain-inspired computation. The ambition behind this book is that it will stimulate young scientists who seek a deeper understanding in order to find the basic principles shaping brains that provided higher cognitive functions in the course of evolution.
List of contents
Preface.- Part 1 The Origins of Neurons and Networks.- 1 Physical ethology of unicellular organism.- 2 Molecular characteristics of neuron-like functions in single-cell organisms.- 3 Back through time: how cnidarians and basal metazoans shed light on ancient nervous systems.- Part 2 The Rise of Diverse Brain Types.- 4 Functional specification of a primitive bilaterian brain in planarian.- 5 The computation and robustness of the mini-cognitive centers of terrestrial mollusks - an exquisite outcome of brain evolution.- 6 Insect brains - minute structures controlling complex behaviors.- 7 Identifying vertebrate brain prototypes in deuterostomes.- 8 Genome and Transcriptome-wide Researches of Brain Evolution.- Part 3 Cognitive Systems.- 9 The origin of vertebrate brain centers.- 10 Adaptive radiation and vertebrate brain diversity: cases of teleosts.- 11 Molecular profiling reveals insight into avian brain organization and functional columnar commonalities with mammals.- 12 The neocortex and dorsal ventricular ridge: functional convergence and underlying developmental mechanisms.- 13 Molecular investigations of the structure and development of the brain of carnivores.- 14 Evolution of the mammalian brain with a focus on whale olfactory bulbs.- 15 The Evolution and Function of Sleep.- 16 Prefrontal anatomical architecture and top-down behavioral control in human and non-human primates.- Part 4 Models and Designs.- 17 Organisational Principles of Connectomes: Changes during Evolution and Development.- 18 Muscular-Hydrostat Computers: Physical Reservoir Computing for Octopus-Inspired Soft Robots.- 19 Brain Evolution as an Information Flow Designer: the Ground Architecture for Biological and Artificial General Intelligence
Summary
This book presents a new, detailed examination that explains how elegant brains have been shaped in evolution. It consists of 19 chapters written by academic professionals in neuroscience, opening with the origin of single-celled creatures and then introducing primordial types in invertebrates with the great abundance of the brains of vertebrates. Important topics are provided in a timely manner, because novel techniques emerged rapidly—as seen, for examples, in the next-generation sequencers and omics approaches. With the explosion of big data, neural-related genes and molecules is now on the radar. In fact, Europe’s big science and technology projects, a €1 billion plan called the Human Brain Project and the Blue Brain Project to understand mammalian brain networks, have been launched in recent years. Furthermore, with the rise of recently advanced artificial intelligence, there is great enthusiasm for understanding the evolution of neural networks. The views from brain evolutionin nature provide an essential opportunity to generate ideas for novel neuron- and brain-inspired computation. The ambition behind this book is that it will stimulate young scientists who seek a deeper understanding in order to find the basic principles shaping brains that provided higher cognitive functions in the course of evolution.
Additional text
“The range of the book is very wide. This actually becomes one of the volume’s assets for any researcher or student who aims to achieve a wider, multidisciplinary view on cognitive and neural phenomena.” (Fred A. Keijzer, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 93 (2), June, 2018)
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"The range of the book is very wide. This actually becomes one of the volume's assets for any researcher or student who aims to achieve a wider, multidisciplinary view on cognitive and neural phenomena." (Fred A. Keijzer, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 93 (2), June, 2018)
