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Brain Evolution and Human Neuropsychology: The Inferential Brain Hypothesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2012

Timothy R. Koscik  and
Daniel Tranel
Timothy R. Koscik*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Division of Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario
Daniel Tranel
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Division of Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: Timothy R. Koscik, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G3. E-mail: t.koscik@utoronto.ca
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Abstract

Collaboration between human neuropsychology and comparative neuroscience has generated invaluable contributions to our understanding of human brain evolution and function. Further cross-talk between these disciplines has the potential to continue to revolutionize these fields. Modern neuroimaging methods could be applied in a comparative context, yielding exciting new data with the potential of providing insight into brain evolution. Conversely, incorporating an evolutionary base into the theoretical perspectives from which we approach human neuropsychology could lead to novel hypotheses and testable predictions. In the spirit of these objectives, we present here a new theoretical proposal, the Inferential Brain Hypothesis, whereby the human brain is thought to be characterized by a shift from perceptual processing to inferential computation, particularly within the social realm. This shift is believed to be a driving force for the evolution of the large human cortex. (JINS, 2012, 18, 394–401)

Keywords

Brain evolutionNeuropsychologyInferenceOlfactionComparative neuroanatomyPrimates
Type
Short Review
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 18 , Issue 3 , May 2012 , pp. 394 - 401
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2012

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