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On the Matter of Mind: Neural Complexity and Functional Dynamics of the Human Brain

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Evolution of the Brain, Cognition, and Emotion in Vertebrates

Part of the book series: Brain Science ((BRASC))

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Abstract

The evolutionary expansion of the brain is among the most distinctive morphological features of anthropoid primates. During the past decades, considerable progress has been made in explaining brain evolution in terms of physical and adaptive principles. The object of this review is to present current perspectives on primate brain evolution, especially in humans, and to examine some of the design principles and operational modes that underlie the information processing capacity of the cerebral cortex. It is shown that the development of the cortex coordinates folding with connectivity in a way that produces smaller and faster brains than otherwise would have been possible. It will be argued that in primates the complexity of the neural circuitry of the cerebral cortex is the neural correlate of higher cognitive functions, including mind-like properties and consciousness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Meibergdreef 47, Amsterdam, 1105 BA, The Netherlands

    Michel A. Hofman Ph.D.

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  1. Michel A. Hofman Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Michel A. Hofman Ph.D. .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Keio University, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Shigeru Watanabe

  2. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam Zuidoost, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands

    Michel A Hofman

  3. Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida, USA

    Toru Shimizu

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Hofman, M.A. (2017). On the Matter of Mind: Neural Complexity and Functional Dynamics of the Human Brain. In: Watanabe, S., Hofman, M., Shimizu, T. (eds) Evolution of the Brain, Cognition, and Emotion in Vertebrates. Brain Science. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-56559-8_7

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