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Neural reuse as a source of developmental homology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 October 2010

David S. Moore
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Pitzer College and Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA 91711. dmoore@pitzer.eduhttp://pzacad.pitzer.edu/~dmoore/
Chris Moore
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H4J1, Canada. Chris.Moore@Dal.Cahttp://myweb.dal.ca/moorec/index.html

Abstract

Neural reuse theories should interest developmental psychologists because these theories can potentially illuminate the developmental relations among psychological characteristics observed across the lifespan. Characteristics that develop by exploiting pre-existing neural circuits can be thought of as developmental homologues. And, understood in this way, the homology concept that has proven valuable for evolutionary biologists can be used productively to study psychological/behavioral development.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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