Integration of somatic evolutionary mechanisms into higher-level brain function

Determine how somatic local variation-and-selection processes in the nervous system (including synaptic and axonal overproduction followed by pruning) integrate into higher-level brain function, and ascertain the extent to which these processes determine complex cognitive functions.

Background

The paper argues that evolutionary principles operate at somatic scales within the nervous system, citing well-documented mechanisms such as synaptic and axonal overgeneration followed by selective pruning. It reviews selectionist theories of brain function and notes their plausibility but also their speculative nature due to difficulties in experimental validation.

Within this context, the authors explicitly highlight an unresolved question: although somatic evolutionary mechanisms are known to play an indispensable role in aspects of cognition, particularly learning, it is not yet fully understood how these processes integrate into higher-level brain function nor the degree to which they determine complex cognitive processes.