Evolution of Nervous Systems, Second Edition, Four Volume Set is a unique, major reference which offers the gold standard for those interested both in evolution and nervous systems. All biology only makes sense when seen in the light of evolution, and this is especially true for the nervous system. All animals have nervous systems that mediate their behaviors, many of them species specific, yet these nervous systems all evolved from the simple nervous system of a common ancestor. To understand these nervous systems, we need to know how they vary and how this variation emerged in evolution. In the first edition of this important reference work, over 100 distinguished neuroscientists assembled the current state-of-the-art knowledge on how nervous systems have evolved throughout the animal kingdom. This second edition remains rich in detail and broad in scope, outlining the changes in brain and nervous system organization that occurred from the first invertebrates and vertebrates, to present day fishes, reptiles, birds, mammals, and especially primates, including humans. The book also includes wholly new content, fully updating the chapters in the previous edition and offering brand new content on current developments in the field. Each of the volumes has been carefully restructured to offer expanded coverage of non-mammalian taxa, mammals, primates, and the human nervous system. The basic principles of brain evolution are discussed, as are mechanisms of change. The reader can select from chapters on highly specific topics or those that provide an overview of current thinking and approaches, making this an indispensable work for students and researchers alike.

The central goal of the In the Light of Evolution (ILE) series is to promote the evolutionary sciences through state-of-the-art colloquia-in the series of Arthur M. Sackler colloquia sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences-and their published proceedings. Each installment explores evolutionary perspectives on a particular biological topic that is scientifically intriguing but also has special relevance to contemporary societal issues or challenges. This book is the outgrowth of the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium "Brain and Behavior," which was sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences on January 20-21, 2012, at the Academy's Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, CA. It is the sixth in a series of Colloquia under the general title "In the Light of Evolution." Specifically, In Light of Evolution: Brain and Behavior focuses on the field of evolutionary neuroscience that now includes a vast array of different approaches, data types, and species. This volume is also available for purchase with the In the Light of Evolution six-volume set. Table of Contents Front Matter Part I: EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS OF NEURONS AND NERVOUS SYSTEMS 1 Functionalization of a Protosynaptic Gene Expression Network--Cecilia Conaco, Danielle S. Bassett, Hongjun Zhou, Mary Luz Arcila, Sandie M. Degnan, Bernard M. Degnan, and Kenneth S. Kosik 2 Adaptive Evolution of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channels: The First 800 Million Years--Harold H. Zakon 3 Evolution of Centralized Nervous Systems: Two Schools of Evolutionary Thought--R. Glenn Northcutt Part II: DEVELOPMENTAL AND ADULT VARIATION IN NEURAL ORGANIZATION 4 Evolving Specialization of the Arthropod Nervous System--Erin Jarvis, Heather S. Bruce, and Nipam H. Patel 5 Expansion, Folding, and Abnormal Lamination of the Chick Optic Tectum After Intraventricular Injections of FGF2--Luke D. McGowan, Roula A. Alaama, Amanda C. Freise, Johnny C. Huang, Christine J. Charvet, and Georg F. Striedter 6 Cortical Evolution in Mammals: The Bane and Beauty of Phenotypic Variability--Leah A. Krubitzer and Adele M. H. Seelke 7 Evolution of Columns, Modules, and Domains in the Neocortex of Primates--Jon H. Kaas 8 The Remarkable, Yet Not Extraordinary, Human Brain as a Scaled-Up Primate Brain and Its Associated Cost--Suzana Herculano-Houzel Part III: FROM NEURAL CIRCUIT EVOLUTION TO ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR 9 Homology and Homoplasy of Swimming Behaviors and Neural Circuits in the Nudipleura (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia)--James M. Newcomb, Akira Sakurai, Joshua L. Lillvis, Charuni A. Gunaratne, and Paul S. Katz 10 Shared Developmental and Evolutionary Origins for Neural Basis of VocalAcoustic and PectoralGestural Signaling--Andrew H. Bass and Boris P. Chagnaud 11 To Flock or Fight: Neurochemical Signatures of Divergent Life Histories in Sparrows--James L. Goodson, Leah C. Wilson, and Sara E. Schrock 12 From Chemotaxis to the Cognitive Map: The Function of Olfaction--Lucia F. Jacobs 13 Evolution of Brains and Behavior for Optimal Foraging: A Tale of Two Predators--Kenneth C. Catania Part IV: PHYLOGENY OF HUMAN BRAINS AND HUMAN MINDS 14 Human Brain Evolution: From Gene Discovery to Phenotype Discovery--Todd M. Preuss 15 Integration of Faces and Vocalizations in Ventral Prefrontal Cortex: Implications for the Evolution of Audiovisual Speech--Lizabeth M. Romanski 16 Math, Monkeys, and the Developing Brain--Jessica F. Cantlon 17 A Hierarchical Model of the Evolution of Human Brain Specializations--H. Clark Barrett Epilogue: A TANGLED MULTILAYERED WEB References Index