A historic and contemporary landscape of the Evolutionary and psychological Perspectives on brain Development | [International Journal of Biology and Biotechnology • 2025]

Author(s):

1. Komal Mahmood: Department of Pharmacology, Dow University of Health Sciences,Karachi,Pakistan

Abstract:

The emergence of present psychological theories to evaluate cognitive function and further development of neurological study was not an isolated event. It took almost a century of racially charged pseudo-scientific theories that gradually enabled advances in neuro-behavioral science. The article introduces 19th-century German scholars such asPaul de Lagarde and Julius Langbehn, who owing to their disillusionment with academia inextricably intertwined nationalist ideologies with academic insights to promote the belief that certain intellectual traits were racially and culturally determined. The article traces how these ideologies impacted the conceptualization of brain hierarchy, as seen in the works of Arthur de Gobineau, who theorized racial inequality as a factor in civilization’s progress. Transitioning to the biological and psychological mechanisms of brain development, the article reviews foundational theories from pioneering scientists. Jean Pierre Flourens and Franz Joseph Gall were early proponents of brain localization, proposing that specific brain regions correlate with distinct functions, a concept that lent credibility to phrenology and influenced later cognitive psychology. Furthermore, the article discusses the evolutionary growth of brain structures such as the neocortex and highlights how cytogenic niches facilitate neurogenesis, enabling cognitive flexibility and adaptability

Page(s): 29-37

DOI: DOI not available

Published: Journal: International Journal of Biology and Biotechnology, Volume: 22, Issue: 1, Year: 2025

Keywords:

neurogenesis , neuroplasticity , Social Darwinism , Racial theory

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