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In Evolutionary Neuropsychology, Frederick L. Coolidge examines the evolutionary origins of the human brain's present structures and functions, and traces these origins from the first life forms, through the development of consciousness, to modern human thinking. A new multidisciplinary science, evolutionary neuropsychology embraces and uses empirical findings from the fields of evolution, neuroscience, cognitive sciences, psychology, anthropology, and archaeology. The bedrock foundation of evolutionary neuropsychology is the assumption that functionally-specialized brain regions are adaptations naturally selected in response to various environmental challenges over the course of billions of years of evolution. These adaptations and their brain regions and circuitry may now serve new functions, which are called exaptations, and they are particularly involved in higher cognitive functions.
Chapter 1: A Brief History of Life and Brain Evolution
Chapter 2: The Evolution of Learning and Memory Systems
Chapter 3: An Introduction to the Brain
Chapter 4: The Frontal Lobes
Chapter 5: The Parietal Lobes
Chapter 6: The Temporal Lobes
Chapter 7: The Cerebellum
Chapter 8: The Hippocampus
Chapter 9: The Evolution of Sleep and Dreams
Chapter 10: Paleopsychopathology
Description
In Evolutionary Neuropsychology, Frederick L. Coolidge examines the evolutionary origins of the human brain's present structures and functions, and traces these origins from the first life forms, through the development of consciousness, to modern human thinking. A new multidisciplinary science, evolutionary neuropsychology embraces and uses empirical findings from the fields of evolution, neuroscience, cognitive sciences, psychology, anthropology, and archaeology. The bedrock foundation of evolutionary neuropsychology is the assumption that functionally-specialized brain regions are adaptations naturally selected in response to various environmental challenges over the course of billions of years of evolution. These adaptations and their brain regions and circuitry may now serve new functions, which are called exaptations, and they are particularly involved in higher cognitive functions.