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SUMMARY:Deep Time and Modern Brains - Professor Nicholas Strausfeld\, FRS\
 , Regents Professor\, Department of Neuroscience\, University of Arizona
DTSTART:20140912T110000Z
DTEND:20140912T120000Z
UID:TALK54096@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:32335
DESCRIPTION:Extant arthropods comprise the most species-rich taxon hallmar
 ked by stunning morphological diversity. However\, just four central nervo
 us system ground patterns typify Arthropoda (Onychophora\, Myriapoda\, Pan
 crustacea\, Chelicerata). Neurocladistics resolves these arrangements as d
 istinct\, but for how long they have been distinct has been impossible to 
 tell. This may find resolution in the fossil record. In the last six years
 \, Cambrian Lagerstätten have provided data about brain diversity during 
 early stages of arthropod radiation. Rare Chengjiang specimens resolve mus
 cle\, digestive tracts and glands vascular system\, and also cerebral gang
 lia\, optic lobes\, and ventral nervous system (VNS) in addition to integu
 mental features\, such as eye structures and sensilla. With some exception
 s1\, such morphological features had been largely overlooked partly becaus
 e nervous systems were considered unlikely to be preserved. This was chall
 enged by observations of the late Cambrian stem arthropod Waptia fieldensi
 s2. Observations of the earlier Fuxianhuiids from the Chengjiang early Cam
 brian demonstrated that 520 million years ago a brain3 and ventral cord4 t
 ypical of extant mandibulates equipped a morphologically simple stem arthr
 opod. The identification of the brain\, eyes and VNS of the megacheiran Al
 lalcomenaeus demonstrated the coeval presence of the chelicerate ground pa
 ttern5. Subsequent identification of an onychophoran-like brain in a new a
 nomalocaridid species Lyrarapax unguispinus6\, resolved a long-standing di
 spute regarding the segmental affinity of “frontal appendages” versus 
 “great appendages.” These discoveries impel considerations about the d
 ivergent evolution of arthropod morphologies\, and hence sensory systems\,
  and how these relate to ancestral brains and central nervous systems7.\n\
 nReferences:\n\n1. Vannier\, J.\, García-Bellido\, D.C.\, Hu\, S-X. & Che
 n\, A-L. Proc. R. Soc. B 2009 276 2567-2574. 2009.\n2. Strausfeld\, N.J. P
 alaeo. Canadiana 31\, 157–169. 2011.\n3. Ma\, X.\, Hou\, X\, Edgecombe\,
  G. D. & Strausfeld\, N. J. Nature 490\, 258-261. 2012.\n4. Yang\, J.\, Or
 tega-Hernandez\, J.\, Butterfield\, N.J. & Zhang G. Nature 494\, 468-471. 
 2013.\n5. Tanaka\, G. Hou\, X.\, Ma\, X.\, Edgecombe\, G. D. & Strausfeld\
 , N. J. Nature 502\, 364-367. 2013.\n6. Cong\, P.\, Ma\, X.\, Hou\, X\, Ed
 gecombe\, G. D. & Strausfeld\, N.J. Nature\n   doi:10.1038/nature13486. 20
 14.\n7. Strausfeld\, N.J. Arthropod Brains: Evolution\, Functional Eleganc
 e\, and Historical Significance  (Belknap\, Harvard University Press). 201
 2.\n\nHost and contact person: Liria Masuda-Nakagawa (lm546@cam.ac.uk)\nPl
 ease let Liria know if you would like to meet Professor Strausfeld after t
 he seminar.
LOCATION:Part II lecture room\, Department of Genetics
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