Evolution of Nervous Systems

by Jon H Kaas (Other), Suzana Herculano-Houzel (Other)

Overview

The third edition of Evolution of Nervous Systems includes wholly new content over 4 volumes, all chapters from the previous edition have been thoroughly updated, and 50 brand new contributions by leading experts have been added. Each of the volumes will be carefully restructured to offer expanded coverage of non-mammalian taxa, mammals, primates and the human nervous system. The basic principles of brain evolution are discussed, as well as mechanisms of change, which involve gene expression and altered courses of embryonic development. The reader can select from chapters on highly specific topics as well as those providing an overview of current thinking and approaches. This timely new edition of Evolution of Nervous Systems is a unique major reference, offering the gold standard for those interested in evolution and in nervous systems.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780443273803
Publisher:	Elsevier Science & Technology Books
Publication date:	02/01/2026
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.88(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Kaas's major research interests are in the evolution and functional organization of sensory-perceptual, cognitive, and motor systems, especially in primates, in the development of these systems, and in how these systems are plastic in response to injury and use in developing and adult brains. Special research emphasis is placed on studying visual, auditory and somatosensory systems, but current studies are also concerned with multimodal and sensorimotor integration in parietal and frontal cortex. Research questions are addressed with a range of electrophysiological, neuroanatomical, biochemical, and behavioral techniques. Teaching interests are in neuroscience, biological psychology, and animal behavior.

Current Research:
• Single and multielectrode recordings of neurons in primary somatosensory cortex of monkeys.
• Optical imaging of functional subdivisions of visual cortex in monkeys.
• Studies of anatomical connections of neural networks in brain systems devoted to somatosensory, visual, auditory, motor, and gustatory functions in monkeys.
• Studies of brain architecture.

Interested in comparative neuroanatomy, cellular composition of brains, brain morphology, brain evolution, metabolic cost of body and brain, sleep requirement across species, feeding time, and really interested in how all of these are tied together. Writes about neuroscience and science in general for the public; recently published The Human Advantage: A New Understanding of How Our Brain Became Remarkable (MIT Press, 2016).

Table of Contents

Volume 1: The Evolution of The Nervous Systems in Nonmammalian Vertebrates

Volume 2: The Nervous Systems of Early Mammals and Their Evolution

Volume 3: The Nervous Systems of Non-Human Primates

Volume 4: The Evolution of The Human Brain: Apes and Other Ancestors

Approx. 150 to 170 chapters (~40 per volume)

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From the Publisher

Evolution of Nervous Systems 3e comprehensively covers the evolution of nervous systems across the animal kingdom.