User:Rscully22/Paleoneurology

Wikipedia Proposal: Paleoneurology

Presented by: Michael Derobertis, Lauren Okadala, Ryan Scully

General definition

 * Paleoneurology is the study of brain evolution by examining anatomical and morphological endocranial traits and volumes of endocasts.

Importance of Paleoneurolgy

 * The study of paleoneurology allows researchers to determine the volume of the ancient brain. By finding these measurements, researchers have been able to predict the average body weight of species.  Endocasts also reveal traits of the brain including relative lobe size, blood supply, and general insight into the evolution of species.

Methods of Research

 * Paleoneurologists analyze endocranial casts (endoclasts) that reproduce details of the external morphology of brains that have been imprinted on the internal surfaces of skulls.


 * Paleoneurologists identify cranial capacity of fossils, which approximates brain size.

Limitations

 * Fossil preservation and lack of suitable experimental subjects hinder ability to record accurate findings on brain morphology from endocast analyses.


 * Tools to study endocasts need refining.

History of Paleoneurology

 * Studies of the brain have been tracked back to ancient Egypt. Paleoneurology did not come along until much later in 1819 when Oken published his results from petrified mud found in the skull of a crocodile in 1819.


 * Darwin's publication of Origin of Species in 1859 led to speculations on vertebrate brain evolution.
 * The history regarding paleoneurology can be broken into 5 main periods: (1) Transcendental Anatomy and the Chain of Being; (2) Victorian Neuroanatomy; (3) Microscopy and the Flowering of Comparative Neuroanatomy; (4) Evolutionary Synthesis and Experimental Neuroanatomy; and (5) Evolutionary Developmental Neuroanatomy.

Division of workload:
We have decided to schedule times that we can all meet to work together on the various parts of this project. We think that this is the best way for all of us to discuss and understand fully the topic so that we can create a cohesive article.

Division of workload:
We have decided to schedule times that we can all meet to work together on the various parts of this project. We think that this is the best way for all of us to discuss and understand fully the topic so that we can create a cohesive article.