Editing Evolutionary neuroscience (section)

== Evolution of the human brain ==
[[Charles Darwin|Darwin]], in [[The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex|''The Descent of Man'']], stipulated that the mind evolved simultaneously with the body. According to his theory, all humans have a barbaric core that they learn to deal with.<ref name=Barrett-2020/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 17}} Darwin's theory allowed people to start thinking about the way animals and their brains evolve.<ref name=Northcutt-2001/>

=== Reptile brain<span id="reptile_brain_anchor" class="anchor"></span> ===
Plato's insight on the evolution of the human brain contemplated the idea that all humans were once lizards, with similar survival needs such as feeding, fighting and mating. In the [[classical Greece|classical era]] [[Plato]] first described this concept as the ''"lizard mind"'' – the deepest layer and one of three parts of his conception of a three-part human mind. In the 20th&nbsp;century [[Paul D. MacLean|P. MacLean]] developed a similar, modern ''[[triune brain]]'' theory.<ref name=Barrett-2020/>{{rp|style=ama|pp= 14–16}}

Recent research in molecular genetics has demonstrated evidence that there is no difference in the neurons that reptiles and nonhuman mammals have when compared to humans. Instead, new research speculates that all mammals, and potentially reptiles, birds and some species of fish, evolve from a common order pattern. This research reinforces the idea that human brains are structurally no t any different from many other organisms.<ref name=Barrett-2020/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 19–21}}

The cerebral cortex of reptiles resembles that of mammals, although simplified.<ref name=Kaas-2007/> Although the evolution and function of the human cerebral cortex is still shrouded in mystery, we know that it is the most dramatically changed part of the brain during recent evolution. The reptilian brain, 300&nbsp;million years ago, was made for all our basic urges and instincts like fighting, reproducing, and mating. The reptile brain evolved 100&nbsp;million years later and gave us the ability to feel emotion. Eventually, it was able to develop a rational part that controls our inner animal.

=== Visual perception ===
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Vision allows humans to process the world surrounding them to a certain extent. Through the wavelengths of light, the human brain can associate them to a specific event. Although the brain obviously perceives its surroundings at a specific moment, the brain equally predicts the upcoming changes in the environment.<ref name=Barrett-2020/>{{rp|style=ama|p= 66, 72}} Once it has noticed them, the brain begins to prepare itself to encounter the new scenario by attempting to develop an adequate response. This is accomplished by using the data the brain has at its access, which can be to use past experiences and memories to form a proper response.<ref name=Barrett-2020/>{{rp|style=ama|pp= 66–67}}</ref> However, sometimes the brain fails to predict accurately which means that the mind perceives a false illustration. Such an incorrect image occurs when the brain uses an inadequate memory to respond to what it is facing, which means that the memory does not correlate with the real scenario.<ref name=Barrett-2020/>{{rp|style=ama|pp= 75–76}}

[[File:HarpersWeekly1892-36-p1117.jpg|thumb|The [[rabbit–duck illusion]] is a famous ambiguous image in which a rabbit or a duck can be seen. The earliest known version is an unattributed drawing from the 23&nbsp;October 1892 issue of ''Blätter'' magazine.]]

Research about how visual perception has developed in evolution is today best understood through studying present-day primates since the organization of the brain cannot be ascertained only by analyzing fossilized skulls.

The brain interprets visual information in the occipital lobe, a region in the back of the brain. The occipital lobe contains the visual cortex and the thalamus, which are the two main actors in processing visual information. The process of interpreting information has proven to be more complex than "what you see is what you get". Misinterpreting visual information is more common than previously believed.

As knowledge of the human brain has evolved, researchers discover that our visual perception is much closer to a construction of the brain than a direct "photograph" of what is in front of us. This can lead to misperceiving certain situations or elements in the brain's attempt to keep us safe. For example, an on-edge soldier believes a young child with a stick is a grown man with a gun, as the brain's sympathetic system, or fight-or-flight mode, is activated.<ref name=Barrett-2020/>

An example of this phenomenon can be observed in the [[rabbit-duck illusion]]. Depending on how the image is looked at, the brain can interpret the image of a rabbit, or a duck. There is no right or wrong answer, but it is proof that what is seen may not be the reality of the situation.

=== Auditory perception ===
The organization of the human auditory cortex is divided into core, belt, and parabelt. This closely resembles that of present-day primates.

The concept of auditory perception resembles visual perception very similarly. Our brain is wired to act on what it expects to experience. The sense of hearing helps situate an individual, but it also gives them hints about what else is around them. If something moves, they know approximately where it is and by the tone of it, the brain can predict what moved. If someone were to hear leaves rustling in a forest, the brain might interpret that sound as being an animal which could be a dangerous factor, but it would simply be another person walking.<ref name=Barrett-2020/> The brain can predict many things based on what it is interpreting, however, those predictions may not all be true.

=== Language development ===
Evidence of a rich cognitive life in primate relatives of humans is extensive, and a wide range of specific behaviours in line with Darwinian theory is well documented.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cheney |first=D.L. |author-link=Dorothy Cheney (scientist) |year=1990 |title=How Monkeys See the World: Inside the mind of another species |publisher=University of Chicago Press |place=Chicago, IL }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Cheney |first=D.L. |author-link=Dorothy Cheney (scientist) |year=2008 |title=Baboon Metaphysics: The evolution of a social mind |publisher=University of Chicago Press |place=Chicago, IL }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hurford |first=James R. |year=2007 |title=The Origins of Meaning |publisher=Oxford University Press |place=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0-19-152592-6 |oclc=252685884 }}</ref> However, until recently, research has disregarded nonhuman primates in the context of evolutionary linguistics, primarily because unlike vocal learning birds, our closest relatives seem to lack imitative abilities. Evolutionary speaking, there is great evidence suggesting a genetic groundwork for the concept of languages has been in place for millions of years, as with many other capabilities and behaviours observed today.

While evolutionary linguists agree on the fact that volitional control over vocalizing and expressing language is a quite recent leap in the history of the human race, that is not to say auditory perception is a recent development as well. Research has shown substantial evidence of well-defined neural pathways linking cortices to organize auditory perception in the brain. Thus, the issue lies in our abilities to imitate sounds.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bornkessel-Schlesewsky |first1=Ina |last2=Schlesewsky |first2=Matthias |last3=Small |first3=Steven L. |last4=Rauschecker |first4=Josef P. |year=2014|title=Neurobiological roots of language in primate audition: Common computational properties |journal=[[Trends in Cognitive Sciences]] |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=142–150 |doi=10.1016/j.tics.2014.12.008 |pmid=25600585 |pmc=4348204 |lang=en }}</ref>

Beyond the fact that primates may be poorly equipped to learn sounds, studies have shown them to learn and use gestures far better. Visual cues and motoric pathways developed millions of years earlier in our evolution, which seems to be one reason for our earlier ability to understand and use gestures.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Roberts |first1=Anna Ilona |last2=Roberts |first2=Samuel George Bradley |last3=Vick |first3=Sarah-Jane |date=March 2014 |title=The repertoire and intentionality of gestural communication in wild chimpanzees |journal=[[Animal Cognition]] |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=317–336 |doi=10.1007/s10071-013-0664-5|pmid=23999801 |s2cid=13899247 |issn=1435-9456 |hdl=10034/604606 |hdl-access=free |lang=en |url=http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/7526/3/The%20repertoire%20and%20intentionality%20of%20gestural%20communication%20in%20wild%20chimpanzees.pdf }}</ref>

=== Cognitive specializations ===
Evolution shows how certain environments and surroundings will favor the development of specific cognitive functions of the brain to aid an animal or in this case human to successfully live in that environment.

Cognitive specialization in a theory in which cognitive functions, such as the ability to communicate socially, can be passed down genetically through offspring. This would benefit species in the process of natural selection. As for studying this in relation to the human brain, it has been theorized that very specific social skills apart from language, such as trust, vulnerability, navigation, and self-awareness can also be passed by offspring.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baron-Cohen |first1=S. |author1-link=Simon Baron-Cohen |last2=Leslie |first2=Alan M. |last3=Frith |first3=Uta |date=October 1985 |title=Does the autistic child have a "theory of mind" ? |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0010-0277%2885%2990022-8 |journal=[[Cognition (journal)|Cognition]] |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=37–46 |doi=10.1016/0010-0277(85)90022-8 |pmid=2934210 |s2cid=14955234 |issn=0010-0277 |lang=en |url-access=subscription }}</ref>