ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors focus on selected topics regarding the evolution of neuronal communication, sensory systems, and the structure and development of the nervous system. Before addressing these specific topics, they introduce several key concepts and approaches in evolutionary analysis that form the foundation for studying the specific problems presented later in the chapter. The construction of accurate phylogenetic trees not only unifies the animal kingdom, but also provides an important basis for evolutionary analysis of the gain and loss of specific traits, as we discuss in the next section. As the acquisition of trichromacy in primates was more recent than most of the adaptations they had discussed thus far, more details of this evolutionary change have been discerned. They now turn to the final part of the chapter on the evolution of nervous system structures.
