1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910783639903321

Autore

Cunnane Stephen C

Titolo

Survival of the fattest [[electronic resource] ] : the key to human brain evolution / / Stephen C. Cunnane

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Hackensack, NJ, : World Scientific, c2005

ISBN

1-281-88081-7

9786611880811

981-256-770-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (363 p.)

Disciplina

612.8

Soggetti

Brain - Evolution

Brain - Evolution - Nutritional aspects

Nutrition

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; Foreword; Preface How Did the Human Brain Evolve?; Acknowledgements; Chapter 1 Human Evolution: A Brief Overview; Chapter 2 The Human Brain: Evolution of Larger Size and Plasticity; Chapter 3 Defining Characteristics: Vulnerability and High Energy Requirement; Chapter 4 Fatness in Human Babies: Critical Insurance for Brain Development; Chapter 5 Nutrition: The Key to Normal Brain Development; Chapter 6 Iodine: The Primary Brain Selective Nutrient; Chapter 7 Iron, Copper, Zinc and Selenium: The Other Brain Selective Minerals

Chapter 8 Docosahexaenoic Acid: The Brain Selective Fatty AcidChapter 9 Genes, Brain Function and Human Brain Evolution; Chapter 10 Bringing the Environment and Diet Into Play; Chapter 11 The Shore-Based Scenario: Why Survival Misses the Point; Chapter 12 Earlier Versions; Chapter 13 The Evidence; Chapter 14 How Would It Work?; Chapter 15 Survival of the Fattest; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

How did humans evolve larger and more sophisticated brains?In general, evolution depends on a special combination of circumstances: part genetics, part time, and part environment. In the case of human brain evolution, the main environmental influence was adaptation to a



'shore-based' diet, which provided the world's richest source of nutrition, as well as a sedentary lifestyle that promoted fat deposition. Such a diet included shellfish, fish, marsh plants, frogs, bird's eggs, etc. Humans and, and more importantly, hominid babies started to get fat, a crucial distinction that led to th