Cranial capacity and neuron number

A critique and proposal

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8312003
AutoresRalph L Holloway (Columbia University, autor de correspondencia)
Año1966
Volumen25
Número3
Páginas305-314
Fecha de publicación1966-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.1330250310
PMID5971505
OpenAlexW1974382026
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas8
Referencias citadas16

Some recent studies correlating cranial capacity with behavioral development and more molecular parameters such as neuron number are critically examined. These studies are found lacking in terms of basic assumptions and empirical support from other studies. In general, it is shown that these studies have overlooked an important aspect of brain evolution in the Primate Order, i.e., reorganization, or the shifting quantitative relationships of subsystems and components of the nervous system. A distinction is made between two approaches to the problem of the evolution of brain and behavior: (1) the “quantitative‐specific” and (2) the “quantitative‐general.” Attempts to derive specificity in terms of estimates of the number of cortical neurons in different pongid and hominid brains are premature unless basic data regarding organizational shifts are known. A supporting argument for the priority of the “quantitative‐general” approach for all levels of the primate nervous system is made. Such a descriptive level is more amenable to synthesis with current neurophysiological knowledge and primate field and laboratory studies than the “quantitative‐specific” approach

Argument (complex analysis) · Biology · Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Neuron · Neurophysiology · Computer Science · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Neuroscience · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Primate Behavior and Ecology · Psychology