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Brain energetics and evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2001

Paul Bach-y-Rita  and
Gaetano L. Aiello
Paul Bach-y-Rita
Affiliation:
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706; Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexicopbachyri@facstaff.wisc.edu
Gaetano L. Aiello
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche e Astronomiche, Via Archirafi n. 36, Palermo, Italyaiello@ist.fisica.unipa.it
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Abstract

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The human brain does not use more energy than the smaller brains of animals of comparable corporal weight. Uniquely, human functions localized largely in parts of the human brain that show greatest size increase over other animals may be mediated primarily by nonsynaptic neurotransmission, with reduced energy cost per kilogram of brain. This may affect the energetic constraints on evolution.

Type
Brief Report
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , April 2001 , pp. 280 - 281
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press