The brain developed a hierarchical structure through evolution by building off of its preexisting capabilities
Life began around 3.5 billion years ago. Multicelled creatures first appeared about 650 million years ago. (When you get a cold, remember that microbes had nearly a three-billion-year head-start!) By the time the earliest jellyfish arose about 600 million years ago, animals had grown complex enough that their sensory and motor systems needed to communicate with each other; thus the beginnings of neural tissue. As animals evolved, so did their nervous systems, which slowly developed a central headquarters in the form of a brain. The brain is a hierarchical system. Evolution builds on preexisting capabilities. Life’s progression can be seen inside your own brain. The highest-level parts—those developed late in our evolution, typically located in the cortex—exert an inhibitory influence on the lower-level limbic system and emotional-territorial circuit. Cortical tissues that are relatively recent, complex, conceptualizing, slow, and motivationally diffuse sit atop subcortical and brain stem structures that are ancient, simplistic, concrete, fast, and motivationally intense.
References
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Hanson, Rick. (2009). Buddha’s Brain The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom Chapter 2.The Evolution of Suffering (p. 31). New Harbinger Publications: Oakland, CA.
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Pollan, Micheal. (2018). How to Change Your Mind Chapter 5. The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Psychedelics (Location 4139). New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Anatomy / Neuroanatomy Status:☀️