[zeroca]

Originally Posted by baudrunner

To what do you attribute the cause of this evolutionary trend of the expanding cerebral cortex and the growing intelligence of the human being as opposed to that of the animals, which only became better animals?

No need in apologies. I never feel insulted for other people’s posts (of whatever kind), especially when they’re allowed and are close to the subject.
As you notice, I always mention that my approach to subject isn’t scientific. I mean that I always try to derive some practical seed for me from amounts of facts and considerations, and sometimes manage to. I like to systematize everything.
As for the scheme above by Haulica, J., I came across it 15-17 years ago and, as I needed to train my physical body with some advantageous method, analyzed it several times wandering what was the reason of different answers from autonomous nervous system to stimulations. Then developed my own imagination (picture) of chasing which cleared and put in order everything in my mind towards this subject, so thanks to Haulica, J. for excellent research. Only interpretations of results of experiment belong to me, nothing else. So far I train myself by training of autonomous nervous system.
Also when I needed to organize myself (my personality) as social subject, (especially to organize my subconscious, automated functions and irritational-inhibitional balance), I recalled learnt by me about reflexes, also about the phenomenon of dominant and developed my own method of organization of personality (only for myself, with the purpose of practical using):
For inst., I gave up smoking with this method in a month, 12 years ago, without any straining, so I’m using mentioned method of organization up to now, at my work, so I really don’t pretend my method to be a high-class scientific achievement.
I also took some breathing yogic methods from yogi Ramacharaca…
Some psychological methods of influence on persons, or on mass from Doctor of psychological sciences Sarjveladze, and from ordinary people from my practical experience of life…
Some methods for organization of governance, and for organization of universe from Jesus Christ, Lao Tse, Buddha, Sufis, Stalin…
So that mixed up “knowledge” can’t be called scientific.
As for DNA I don’t remember even exact construction of it, except for the names of some amino acids, and that it presents a chain of them, and remember nothing more. I’m not concentrated on this subject presently.
I can say generally that in case of human: evolution of body, of nervous system and especially of cerebral cortex has been changing in direction of “humanization”:
---As for motor nervous system (its both, central and peripheral parts), instead of four lower extremities, only two (lower of them) play essential role for escaping in human, i.e. the corresponding zone in brain (for escape - extremities) changed as well accordingly (i.e. cortical zone for escape mainly corresponds to lower extremities only).
As for sensitive systems, vision plays more informative role in human, so its function increased, so occipital lobe (corresponding zone for this function) is more powerful, than that of hearing and especially that of smelling (the functions, which lost prevailing functional using) and even example of advertising on TV can prove that all preview trailers are considered for influence on vision, partly on hearing and by their associative links on consciousness and sub-consciousness of “victims” (i.e. of auditorium).
As for correlative functions of cortex, it also changed according to “striving” of human race for relatively long period of time (millenniums and centuries), i.e. motives for escaping, for chasing, for reproduction or readiness for any action, readiness for different kinds of danger changed according to “striving” of whole race and according to changing of environment. The main figurative formula for evolution can be excellent old saying: If you sow (endeavor) a try (an attempt), you’ll reap a habit, if you sow the habit, you’ll reap a character, if you sow the character, you’ll reap a fate.
And all kind of living creatures (and humans as well among them) changes according to this formula, i.e. evolutional consequences are results of quality, of character, of direction of evolutional process itself.
Here I’d like to mention so called Astvatsaturov’s grasping pathological reflex (of upper extremities), which doesn’t exist manifested in healthy human and only “frees itself” after the insult (cerebral hemorrhage). To say briefly, grasping reflex was in great need in previous periods of human existence for "grasping purposes" and presently experiences atrophy because of developing "other complex, mental grasping means".
I.e. striving+environment are prompting conditions that in result determine evolution of living organism (body, tribe, race) and its brain as well.
So if human race generally was concentrated on developing of associative, correlative, analyzing, productive (in various scientific and art sphere…) functions of cortex, then mentioned 2mm gray layer is the result of told above concentration of whole race for relatively long period of time.