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Evolution of the Brain in Reptiles

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Encyclopedia of Neuroscience

Definition

The brain consists of a forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. Among reptiles, the degree to which the forebrain, particularly its upper part, the pallium, is elaborated varies. Turtles, the tuatara Sphenodon, and some lizards have relatively modest pallial specializations; snakes and other lizards have a greater degree; and crocodiles exhibit the most specialized pallium. The roof of the midbrain, the tectum, is well developed in all reptiles, whereas the roof of the hindbrain, the cerebellum, is much more modestly developed than it is in mammals and birds.

Characteristics

The major regions of the brain are the hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain; the latter is composed of the diencephalon and telencephalon (Fig. 1).

Evolution of the Brain in Reptiles. Figure 1
figure 5111

A sagittal section through a lizard brain, illustrating the major regions and subdivisions.

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA

    Laura L. Bruce

Authors
  1. Laura L. Bruce
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Marc D. Binder

  2. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Graduate School of Medicine University of Tokyo Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku, Tokyo, Japan

    Nobutaka Hirokawa

  3. Göttingen, Germany

    Uwe Windhorst

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Bruce, L.L. (2009). Evolution of the Brain in Reptiles. In: Binder, M.D., Hirokawa, N., Windhorst, U. (eds) Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_3147

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