The Neuro-Embryologic Study of Behavior: Principles, Perspective and Aim

Abstract

Three principles of vertebrate neuro-embryology are emphasized: the primacy of a mechanism of total action; origin of localized centers of function by acceleration of growth within a relatively equipotential system; and progressive organization from the whole to the parts. Demonstration of these principles is presented from the author''s studies of Amblystoma, and evidence for their broader application is drawn from the comparative anatomy and evolution of the nervous system. They are also presented in their relation to the development of behavior. In Amblystoma this development follows the law of the expansion of a primarily integrated total pattern of action with progressive individuation of partial patterns within the total pattern. If knowing is a form of doing, all learning may be according to this law.