Sol Daniel
CSIC-CEAB-CREAF Centre for Ecological Research and Applied Forestries, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Catalonia, Spain.
Biol Lett. 2009 Feb 23;5(1):130-3. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2008.0621.
Why have some animals evolved large brains despite substantial energetic and developmental costs? A classic answer is that a large brain facilitates the construction of behavioural responses to unusual, novel or complex socioecological challenges. This buffer effect should increase survival rates and favour a longer reproductive life, thereby compensating for the costs of delayed reproduction. Although still limited, evidence in birds and mammals is accumulating that a large brain facilitates the construction of novel and altered behavioural patterns and that this ability helps dealing with new ecological challenges more successfully, supporting the cognitive-buffer interpretation of the evolution of large brains.
为什么有些动物尽管要付出巨大的能量和发育成本，却进化出了大脑袋呢？一个经典的答案是，大脑袋有助于构建对异常、新奇或复杂的社会生态挑战的行为反应。这种缓冲效应应该会提高生存率，并有利于延长繁殖寿命，从而弥补延迟繁殖的成本。尽管证据仍然有限，但鸟类和哺乳动物的证据正在积累，表明大脑袋有助于构建新颖和改变的行为模式，并且这种能力有助于更成功地应对新的生态挑战，支持了对大脑进化的认知缓冲解释。
