Human Brain Evolution and Language Development

Brain Anatomy and Biological Development

• 1. Is brain size related to testosterone? How does this connection work?
• 2. What is the state of the brain at birth?
• 3. At what age does the brain reach its full size?
• 4. What defines normal versus abnormal human brain size, and why?
• 5. What is the encephalization quotient?
• 6. What factors must be considered when relating brain size to intelligence?
• 7. Which animal has the largest brain relative to body size? Who ranks second?
• 8. What surface area does the cerebral cortex cover in Homo sapiens, chimpanzees, and rats?

Evolutionary History and Biological Origins

• 9. When did the first mammals appear?
• 10. According to Darwin, what happens when a sense is no longer needed?
• 11. What provides us with our sense of vision?
• 12. What is the significance of the expression "reptiles and mammals"?
• 13. What is an Australopithecus?
• 14. What is the primary cause of brain growth?
• 15. What are the disadvantages of the rapid growth of the human brain?

Language, Communication, and Human Cognition

• 16. How did primitive humans use language and communication?
• 17. Why can a baby breathe while breastfeeding or drinking?
• 18. Why is it unclear how and when language originated?
• 19. Did Homo sapiens speak at the Pit of Bones?
• 20. What is required for speech?
• 21. Could Neanderthals speak?
• 22. Explain the phrase: "Humans talk to the brain."
• 23. Is there a relationship between brain size and the ability to speak?
• 24. Which appeared first in writing?
• 25. What does it mean that language and writing are subject to standardized patterns?
• 26. To what extent is the human capacity for language genetic?
• 27. How does the environment influence language?
• 28. Explain the phrase: "Genes determine certain things in specific environments."
• 29. Does intelligence allow us to acquire language, or does language make us smart?
• 30. What does it mean that letters or signs are arbitrary and conventional?
• 31. What distinguishes human communication from animal communication?
• 32. What is subjectivity as a characteristic of human language?
• 33. Why is human language considered strikingly combinatorial?
• 34. Are we the only species that can speak or experience emotions?
• 35. Is dolphin behavior similar to human behavior? Do dolphins experience emotions?