Exam 3 Flashcards
The Invertebrate “Brain”
- no brain, only nerve net
- no brain (central ganglia), cerebral ganglia on snail is in its head
- centralized brain, like insects
Ganglia
collections of neurons that control a few local functions
centralized brain
communicates with the whole body
Earthworms
learn with only 302 neurons total, chloride and sodium experiment
Mushroom bodies
located in the center of the bee brain, expand with foraging experience NOT AGE, potentially spatial cognition
The Vertebrate Brain
All vertebrate brains have the same basic structure:
- Forebrain (Telencephalon + Diencephalon)
- Midbrain (mesencephalon)
- Hindbrain (cerebellum, pons, medula)
Cortex
Only mammals have a cerebral cortex
Human brain size
has more than doubled in the last 2 million years
Absolute Brain Size
humans do not have the largest brain or most total neurons. larger animals generally have larger brains and more neurons.
Relative brain size
compared to body size, mammals have more brain for their body than other vertebrates
Encephalization Quotient
EQ calculated relative to a standard species (standard for mammals is the cat) human EQ is 7
Cortical Neurons
number of neurons in cortex, humans have the most
Human brain
accounts for 2% of body weight but consumes 20% of metabolic energy at rest alone
Learning Rate
learning to learn, measured by trail to performance
Inhibitory control
ability to resist interfering information, related to endocranial volume across species
Intensive foraging-related cognitive skills
- extractive foraging with tools
2. memory demands for food caching
Home range size
related to foraging demands, is correlated to brain size in primates
Two social cognitive skills
- reasoning ability
2. communication
Social demands
in primates the size of their cortex is related to the average size of their social group
Innovation
- foraging on novel food items
- acquiring novel behaviors
- complexity of social relations
Human Uniqueness candidates
- technology
- shared intentionality and social cognition
- language
- relational reasoning
Bipedalism (4 million)
freed hands to carry and throw things, allowed us to travel long distances on less energy
Shared intentionality
when two people are looking at the same thing (reference point) and they know they are looking at the same thing. usually have (a goal)
Humans vs apes
human children only differed from apes on social tests, the physical tests were the same
relational reasoning
relational reasoning is understanding an abstract relationship between entities (non-human primates primarily think about things they can directly observe, while humans think about abstract patterns and relations)
