Abstract
Elephants have the greatest volume of cerebral cortex of any terrestrial mammal, exceeding that of humans by threefold. Paradoxically perhaps, their performance in tests of primate-like, time-sensitive, or intricate cognitive tasks is unimpressive compared with even chimpanzees. This paradox may be explained on the basis that, rather than evolving toward increasing localization of neuronal projections in the cerebral cortex to maintain interconnectivity and speed of information processing, as seen in large-brained primates, the elephant brain evolved with a bias toward more global, transcortical projections, with reduced local circuit interactions and greatly prolonged information-processing time. On the other hand, this cytoarchitectural model for the elephant brain would appear to provide the neurological basis for the extraordinary long-term and extensive spatial-temporal and social memory abilities of elephants.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Evolution of Nervous Systems |
| Publisher | Elsevier Inc. |
| Pages | 491-497 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Volume | 3 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780123708786 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2010 |
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Keywords
- Cerebral cortex
- Cognitive behavior
- Elephants
- Hippocoupus
- Information processing
- Memory
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
Cite this
Evolution of the elephant brain : A paradox between brain size and cognitive behavior. / Hart, Benjamin; Hart, Lynette A.
Evolution of Nervous Systems. Vol. 3 Elsevier Inc., 2010. p. 491-497.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
}
TY - CHAP
T1 - Evolution of the elephant brain
T2 - A paradox between brain size and cognitive behavior
AU - Hart, Benjamin
AU - Hart, Lynette A
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Elephants have the greatest volume of cerebral cortex of any terrestrial mammal, exceeding that of humans by threefold. Paradoxically perhaps, their performance in tests of primate-like, time-sensitive, or intricate cognitive tasks is unimpressive compared with even chimpanzees. This paradox may be explained on the basis that, rather than evolving toward increasing localization of neuronal projections in the cerebral cortex to maintain interconnectivity and speed of information processing, as seen in large-brained primates, the elephant brain evolved with a bias toward more global, transcortical projections, with reduced local circuit interactions and greatly prolonged information-processing time. On the other hand, this cytoarchitectural model for the elephant brain would appear to provide the neurological basis for the extraordinary long-term and extensive spatial-temporal and social memory abilities of elephants.
AB - Elephants have the greatest volume of cerebral cortex of any terrestrial mammal, exceeding that of humans by threefold. Paradoxically perhaps, their performance in tests of primate-like, time-sensitive, or intricate cognitive tasks is unimpressive compared with even chimpanzees. This paradox may be explained on the basis that, rather than evolving toward increasing localization of neuronal projections in the cerebral cortex to maintain interconnectivity and speed of information processing, as seen in large-brained primates, the elephant brain evolved with a bias toward more global, transcortical projections, with reduced local circuit interactions and greatly prolonged information-processing time. On the other hand, this cytoarchitectural model for the elephant brain would appear to provide the neurological basis for the extraordinary long-term and extensive spatial-temporal and social memory abilities of elephants.
KW - Cerebral cortex
KW - Cognitive behavior
KW - Elephants
KW - Hippocoupus
KW - Information processing
KW - Memory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=36448958995&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=36448958995&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/B0-12-370878-8/00343-8
DO - 10.1016/B0-12-370878-8/00343-8
M3 - Chapter
AN - SCOPUS:36448958995
SN - 9780123708786
VL - 3
SP - 491
EP - 497
BT - Evolution of Nervous Systems
PB - Elsevier Inc.
ER -