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Full-Text Articles in Anatomy

Relative Volume Of The Cerebellum In Dolphins And Comparison With Anthropoid Primates, L. Marino, James K. Rilling, Shinko K. Lin, Sam H. Ridgway Jun 2015

Relative Volume Of The Cerebellum In Dolphins And Comparison With Anthropoid Primates, L. Marino, James K. Rilling, Shinko K. Lin, Sam H. Ridgway

Lori Marino, PhD

According to the ‘developmental constraint hypothesis’ of comparative mammalian neuroanatomy, brain growth follows predictable allometric trends. Therefore, brain structures should scale to the entire brain in the same way across mammals. Evidence for a departure from this pattern for cerebellum volume has recently been reported among the anthropoid primates. One of the mammalian groups that has been neglected in tests of the ‘developmental constraint hypothesis’ is the cetaceans (dolphins, whales, and porpoises). Because many cetaceans possess relative brain sizes in the range of primates comparative tests of the ‘developmental constraint hypothesis’ across these two groups could help to delineate the …


The Evolutionary History Of Cetacean Brain And Body Size, Stephen H. Montgomery, Jonathan H. Geisler, Michael R. Mcgowen, Charlotte Fox, Lori Marino, John Gatesy May 2015

The Evolutionary History Of Cetacean Brain And Body Size, Stephen H. Montgomery, Jonathan H. Geisler, Michael R. Mcgowen, Charlotte Fox, Lori Marino, John Gatesy

Lori Marino, PhD

Cetaceans rival primates in brain size relative to body size and include species with the largest brains and biggest bodies to have ever evolved. Cetaceans are remarkably diverse, varying in both phenotypes by several orders of magnitude, with notable differences between the two extant suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti.We analyzed the evolutionary history of brain and body mass, and relative brain size measured by the encephalization quotient (EQ), using a data set of extinct and extant taxa to capture temporal variation in the mode and direction of evolution. Our results suggest that cetacean brain and body mass evolved under strong directional …


Cetaceans And Primates: Convergence In Intelligence And Self-Awareness, Lori Marino Apr 2015

Cetaceans And Primates: Convergence In Intelligence And Self-Awareness, Lori Marino

Lori Marino, PhD

Cetaceans (dolphins, porpoises and whales) have been of greatest interest to the astrobiology community and to those interested in consciousness and selfawareness in animals. This interest has grown primarily from knowledge of the intelligence, language and large complex brains that many cetaceans possess. The study of cetacean and primate brain evolution and cognition can inform us about the contingencies and parameters associated with the evolution of complex intelligence in general, and, the evolution of consciousness. Striking differences in cortical organization in the brains of cetaceans and primates along with shared cognitive capacities such as self-awareness, culture, and symbolic concept comprehension, …