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Complex behaviors: Evolution and the brain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2010

William O. Dingwall
Affiliation:
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. wdlngwall@bss1.umd.edu

Abstract

Three issues are addressed in this commentary. (1) Wilkins & Wakefield are commended for placing the complex behavior they discuss within an evolutionary matrix. (2) They err on a number of points in regard to their treatment of this complex behavior. These involve (a) their emphasis on the evolution of conceptual structure rather than language, (b) their equation of meaning with reference, (c) their minimalist view of learning theory, and (d) their separation of the evolution of speech from that of language. (3) They adopt a framework for neural preconditions that has been clearly discredited on both behavioral and neuroanatomical grounds. Finally, recent research involving modern neuroimaging techniques casts further doubt on the authors' postulated functions for the neural areas they discuss.

Information

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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