From monkeys to humans: what do we now know about brain homologies?

Abstract

Different primate species, including humans, have evolved by a repeated branching of lineages, some of which have become extinct. The problem of determining the relationships among cortical areas within the brains of the surviving branches (e.g. humans, macaque monkeys, owl monkeys) is difficult for several reasons. First, evolutionary intermediates are missing, second, measurement techniques are different in different primate species, third, species differ in body size, and fourth, brain areas can duplicate, fuse, or reorganize between and within lineages.