ANT 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Temporal Lobe, Neocortex, Diencephalon
Document Summary
Sensing and moving: interacting with the terrestrial habitat. Big brains evolved later in human evolution, mainly in the genus homo- Big brains are very expensive though, require calories and nutrients. Medulla: links brainstem to spinal cord (continuous connection) Cerebellum: coordinates motor rapid response to bodily stimuli. Language involves dispersed areas of the neocortex, from frontal to parietal lobes. When certain areas around the sylvan fissure are damaged: Parallels cortical area or anterior temporal lobe for tactile and muscular sensory input. Larger olfactory membrane areas inside the nose, compared to humans. Circa 10x the density of olfactory receptors humans have. Humans have many broken olfactory pseudogenes that function in chimpanzees. Human vomeronasal organ: unclear function but related to pheromone reception. Human taste receptors: reflect sensitivity to foods and toxins important in omnivorous niche. Primates: generally well adapted for binocular color vision. Optic chiasm, visual field of right eye, primary visual cortex. Muscle spindle sensors have only afferent synaptic connections.
