DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Five-dimensional Analysis Of Alligator and Bird Encephalization: Integrating Changes in Brain Shape Along Developmental and Evolutionary Timelines

飞行使现代鸟类的祖先能够接触到以前从未听说过的各种环境，这一事实构成了它们惊人的多样性（已知物种有10，000种）的基础。这一成功的一个重要部分被认为是源于一个类似哺乳动物的、过度膨胀的大脑的独立进化。这种大脑结构一直被认为是协调动力飞行的许多方面所必需的，但这一假设尚未得到验证。这项研究使用广泛的技术，包括高分辨率计算机断层扫描（CT）成像，整个大脑的三维可视化和统计形状分析，研究了鸟类大脑发育的进化变化。通过对鸟类和其他脊椎动物大脑发育过程的数字化采样，该项目将测试共享关键功能通路的大脑区域的协调形状变化。这些数据将用于确定大脑发育的进化变化是否驱动了成年鸟类大脑的重要结构进化。与飞行行为的早期进化的相关性也将被调查。为这项研究生成的数据将被存档在在线存储库中，并提供给科学和公共领域。出于教育目的，大脑模型将被3D打印并在博物馆和学校项目中实施。这里确定的更广泛的发展模式也将被综合到国家“大脑”计划的更大发现中，该计划旨在大大提高对所有物种和进化历史中大脑复杂内部运作的理解。

Taking to the air afforded the ancestors of modern birds access to a previously unheralded range of environments, a fact that underlies their remarkable diversity (10,000 known species). A significant part of this success is thought to have stemmed from the independent evolution of a mammal-like, hyper-inflated brain. Such a brain structure has long been considered necessary for coordinating the many aspects of powered flight, but this hypothesis that has not yet been tested. This study examines evolutionary changes in avian brain development using a wide range of techniques, including high-resolution computed tomography (CT) imaging, 3-D visualization of whole brains, and statistical shape analyses. By digitally sampling developmental series of brains from birds and other vertebrates, this project will test for coordinated shape changes in brain regions that share key functional pathways. This data will be used to determine whether evolutionary shifts in brain development have driven important structural evolution in adult avian brains. Correlation with the early evolution of flight behavior will also be investigated.Data generated for this study will be archived on online repositories and made available to scientific and public spheres. For educational purposes, brain models will be 3-D printed and implemented in museum and school programs. The broader developmental patterns identified here will also be synthesized into the larger findings of the national "BRAIN" initiative, which seeks to greatly enhance the understanding of the complex, inner workings of the brain across all species and through evolutionary history.