William D. Hopkins – författare

Hemispheric specialization, and lateralized sensory, cognitive or motor function of the left and right halves of the brain, commonly manifests in humans as right-handedness and left hemisphere specialization of language functions. Historically, this has been considered a hallmark of, and unique to, human evolution. Some theories propose that human right-handedness evolved in the context of language and speech while others that it was a product of the increasing motor demands associated with feeding or tool-use. In the past 20-25 years, there has been a plethora of research in animals on the topic of whether population-level asymmetries in behavioral processes or neuro-anatomical structures exist in animals, notably primates and people have begun to question the historical assumptions that hemispheric specialization is unique to humans. This book brings together various summary chapters on the expression of behavioral and neuro-anatomical asymmetries in primates. Several chapters summarize entire families of primates while others focus on genetic and non-genetic models of handedness in humans and how they can be tested in non-human primates. In addition, it makes explicit links between various theoretical models of the development of handedness in humans with the observed patterns of results in non-human primates. A second emphasis is on comparative studies of handedness in primates. There is now enough data in the literature across different species to present an evolutionary tree for the emergence of handedness (and perhaps other aspects of hemispheric specialization, such as neuro-anatomical asymmetries) and its relation to specific morphological and ecological adaptations in various primate species.* The first treatment of this important topic since 1998* Examines the tenet that lateralization and handedness is a uniquely human character through evidence from higer and lower primates and with reference to other vertebrates.* Advances our understanding of the occurrence, evolution and significance of lateralization and handedness effects.

This book arrays recent research on the neural and behavioral lateralization of the brain relying heavily on animal modes. The authors employ the comparative method to enhance our understanding of behavior, specifically through hand use and "handedness" by drawing comparisons with studies involving primates. Topics discussed include Patterns of Lateralized Behavior in Prosimians; Behavioral Lateralization in Language-Trained Chimpanzees; Patterns of Handedness: Comparative Study of Nursery School Children and Captive Gorillas; and Rotational Behavior in Children and Adults. It is the first book of its kind devoted entirely to the question of behavioral asymmetries in all primates and thus presents a milestone as it recognizes the accumulating evidence of asymmetry and lateralized behavior in the non-human nervous system.

Self-Face Recognition and the Brain explores a fundamental cornerstone of human consciousness; how recognizing ourselves leads to a better understanding of the brain and higher-order thinking.Featuring contributions from an interdisciplinary range of researchers, each chapter provides a unique insight into one aspect of self-face recognition. The book begins by introducing readers to the concept of self-face recognition, covering issues like the mirror-test and whether animals can recognize themselves, before addressing the role of neural correlates and attempts at localizing consciousness. It then discusses various disorders and the impact they can have on self-face recognition before considering how neuroscience can heighten our understanding of the field.It will be an essential read for all researchers of self-face recognition, from psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience backgrounds.

Self-Face Recognition and the Brain explores a fundamental cornerstone of human consciousness; how recognizing ourselves leads to a better understanding of the brain and higher-order thinking.Featuring contributions from an interdisciplinary range of researchers, each chapter provides a unique insight into one aspect of self-face recognition. The book begins by introducing readers to the concept of self-face recognition, covering issues like the mirror-test and whether animals can recognize themselves, before addressing the role of neural correlates and attempts at localizing consciousness. It then discusses various disorders and the impact they can have on self-face recognition before considering how neuroscience can heighten our understanding of the field.It will be an essential read for all researchers of self-face recognition, from psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience backgrounds.