The Complexities of Brain Evolution

Here is a simple story about the origins of the human brain: All primate brains are good at packing neurons into a small space—they are neural supercomputers. The human brain is just what you’d expect from a monkey of our size: big, packed with neurons, but no more special than that. It's the chimps and gorillas who are special: without cooked food, their brains stay oddly small.

Or so argues Suzana Herculano-Houzel, my guest in last week's episode.

In today's episode, paleo-neurologist Dean Falk argues that the story is stranger still.

I'll let her tell you why.

Enjoy!

DIG DEEPER

See also last spring's episode with Dean Falk on toolmaking and childhoods, as part of the Origins of Humankind -series.

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MENTIONS AND KEYWORDS

Scholars

Charles Darwin | Dietrich Stout | Robin Dunbar | Katarina Semenderfi | Weiwei Men | Joseph Ledoux | Jane Goodall

Technical terms

Endocasts | Sulci and gyri | Broca's area | Brodmann Area 10, also known as BA10 and the frontal pole | Acheulean hand axe technology

Keywords

Brain science | Neuroscience | Neurology | Paleoneurology | Evolutionary Anthropology | Comparative Anatomy | Cognitive Archaeology | Origins of Consciousness