> I'm not sure our nervous system is more complex than that of other mammals,
> especially that of other primates, but I'll have to let someone else
> (possibily the person to whom this original note was addressed) answer
that.
> I'd be curious to see the answer.
systems are no more complex than that of any chordate or even many
invertebrates. What is more complex is the organization of our brains. The
brain stem at the center is our inheritance from the reptiles, which is
itself simply a complex version of the amphibian and fish brains; it controls
basic sexual behavior and territoriality. Surrounding it is the limbic
system we inherited from the simpler mammals like the platypus and the
marsupials; it controls advanced sensory systems and emotional behavior..
Surrounding that is the neocortex, which is a development of the placental
mammals; it controls cognitive thought and rationality. (This description is
over-simplified, but it is meant to give a quick overview, not detailed
information.) However, this complexity is simply the result of an increase
in structural organization; the organization is not necessarily better or
more efficient, just more cluttered. Yet out of this clutter comes some
interesting functions, like consciousness.
Kevin L. O'Brien