Finlay, Barbara L.

member of graduate field

research overview

I take an approach to the structure and function of the vertebrate nervous system, particularly the visual system and the cerebral cortex, that is both developmental and evolutionary. What "units" of variation do brain and behavior offer up to natural selection? Is structural change in brains over evolution piecemeal, related to specific adaptive function, or does the brain change as a coordinated unit? We have found that brains change in a highly constrained coordinated fashion as they enlarge, which can be related to a highly conserved sequence of structural development. Late-generated structures become disproportionately large, in an extremely predictable fashion. This strengthens the case for viewing the cerebral cortex as a general-purpose learning device rather than a collection of specially-adapted mechanisms, and we are interested in the window this gives us on the nature of human cognition. But, brains also differ, and present research is beginning the investigation of how the brain variations associated with particular niches, like nocturnal versus diurnal, are produced by changes in neural development.

principal investigator on

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: A WEB-BASED SYSTEM FOR MODELING AND PREDICTING NEURODEVELOPMENT ACROSS MAMMALIAN SPECIES awarded by DIRECTORATE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES NSF 2009 - 2013
MULTIDISCIPLINARY TRAINING IN DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING awarded by NATL INST OF HEALTH DHHS 2009 - 2014
THE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF CEREBRAL CORTICAL EXPANSION IN EVOLUTION AND DISORDERS awarded by NATL INST OF CHILD HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, NIH 2011 - 2014

keywords

brain evolution
development
neuroscience
retina
visual cortex

submitted impact statement

individual publications

academic article
- Systematic, balancing gradients in neuron density and number across the primate isocortex. Frontiers in Neuroanatomy. 6. 2012
- Thinking outside the cortex: social motivation in the evolution and development of language. Developmental Science. 14:417-430. 2011
- Comparative, ecological and developmental aspects of visual system design and function. Visual Neuroscience. 28:263-264. 2011
- Evo-devo and brain scaling: candidate developmental mechanisms for variation and constancy in vertebrate brain evolution. Brain, Behavior and Evolution. 78:248-257. 2011
- Mapping behavioural evolution onto brain evolution: the strategic roles of conserved organization in individuals and species. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences. 366:2111-2123. 2011
- Network Structure Implied by Initial Axon Outgrowth in Rodent Cortex: Empirical Measurement and Models. PLOS One. 6. 2011
- A conserved pattern of brain scaling from sharks to primates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 107:12946-12951. 2010
- Late still equals large (A Response to Weisbecker V (2009): Why ‘Late Equals Large’ Does Not Work. Brain, Behavior and Evolution. 65:4-6. 2010
- ttime: an R package for translating the timing of brain development across mammalian species. Neuroinformatics. 8:201-205. 2010
- Rod bipolar cells in the retina of the capuchin monkey (Cebus apella): Characterization and distribution. Visual Neuroscience. 26:389-396. 2009
- Developmental sources of conservation and variation in the evolution of the primate eye. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106:8963-8968. 2009
- Number and topography of cones, rods and optic nerve axons in New and Old World primates. Visual Neuroscience. 25:289-299. 2008
- The developing and evolving retina: Using time to organize form. Brain Research. 1192:5-16. 2008
- Scaling of neuron number and volume of the pulvinar complex in new world primates: Comparisons with humans, other primates, and mammals. Journal of Comparative Neurology. 504:265-274. 2007
- Extrapolating brain development from experimental species to humans. NeuroToxicology. 28: 931-937. 2007
- Endless minds most beautiful. Developmental Science. 10:30-34. 2007
- The Limbic System in Mammalian Brain Evolution . Brain, Behavior and Evolution. 70:57-70. 2007
- Web-based method for translating neurodevelopment from laboratory species to humans. Neuroinformatics. 5:78-94. 2007
- Peripheral variability and central constancy in mammalian visual system evolution. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 272:91-100. 2005
- The Calvinist Cortex: Penetrating Evolutionary Predestination Commentary on “Cortex, Countercurrent Context, and Dimensional Integration of Lifetime Memory” by Bjorn Merker. Cortex. 40:577-579. 2004
- Reduction of early thalamic input alters adult corticocortical connectivity. Developmental Brain Research. 138:354-43. 2002
- Translating developmental time across mammalian species. Neuroscience. 105:7-17. 2001
- The cortex in multidimensional space: where do cortical areas come from?. Developmental Science. 4:125-142. 2001
- Developmental structure in brain evolution. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 24:263-308. 2001
- Conservation of absolute foveal area in New World monkeys. Brain, Behavior and Evolution. 56:276-286. 2001
- The specialization of the owl monkey retina for night vision. Color Research and Application. 26:S118-S122. 2001
- Altered development of visual subcortical projections following neonatal thalamic ablation in the hamster. The Journal of Comparative Neurology. 424:165-178. 2000
- The course of human events: predicting the timing of primate neural development. Developmental Science. 3:57-66. 2000
article
- Natural symmetry. Nature. 435:129-246. 2005
chapter
- Embracing covariation in brain evolution: Large brains, extended development and flexible primate social systems. Evolution of the primate brain : from neuron to behavior. Amsterdam/New York: Elsevier. 71-87. 2012
- Brain evolution: developmental constraints and relative developmental growth. Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Elsevier. 337-345. 2009
- Chronology of the development of the mouse visual system. Eye, Retina and Visual System of the Mouse. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 257-265. 2008
- Evolution, development and emerging universals. Language universals. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. 261-165. 2008
- Cortical evolution as the expression of a program for disproportionate growth and the proliferation of areas. Evolution of nervous systems. Amsterdam/Boston: Elsevier. 73-96. 2007
- E pluribus unum: Too many unique human capacities and too many theories. The evolution of mind : fundamental questions and controversies. New York: Guilford. 294-304. 2007
- Developmental constraints on or developmental structure in brain evolution?. Processes of change in brain and cognitive development. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. 131-162. 2006
- Developmental disorders and evolutionary expectations: Mechanisms of resilience. Development of the Central Nervous System: Effects of Alcohol and Nicotine. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press. 224-266. 2006
- Brain and behavioral development (II). The Cambridge encyclopedia of child development. Cambridge, UK/New York: Cambridge University Press. 296-305. 2005
- Comparative aspects of visual system development . The primate visual system : a comparative approach. Chichester, West Sussex, England: Wiley. 37-62. 2005
- Rethinking developmental neurobiology. Beyond nature-nurture : essays in honor of Elizabeth Bates. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 195-219. 2005
- Developmental neurobiology of early vision. Neurobiology of infant vision. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. 1-42. 2003
- Early language development and its neural correlates. Handbook of neuropsychology. Volume 8, Child neurospsychology. Amsterdam: Elsevier. 109-176. 2002
- Encephalization and its developmental structure: how many ways can a brain get big?. Evolutionary anatomy of the primate cerebral cortex. Cambridge, UK/New York: Cambridge University Press. 14-29. 2001
- Neural correlates of early language learning. Language development : the essential readings. Malden, Mass./Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing. 307-330. 2001

editor of

featured in archived article

Small evolutionary shifts make big impacts -- like developing night vision, researchers find

teaching activities

current professional activities

- Editor, Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2002-
- Editorial Board, Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 1995-2002
- Editorial Board, Visual Neuroscience, 1995-98
- Associate Editor, Developmental Science 2001-2002
- Behavioral Neurobiology Subcommittee, National Institute of Mental Health, 1987-1991
- Curator, Wilder Brain Collection 1979- present

education and training

Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1976
B.A., Oberlin College 1972

awards and distinctions listing

- Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi
- National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, 1972-1975.
- Young Investigator Travel Award, Assoc. for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, 1976.
- Research Career Development Award, 1983-1988.
- Scientific and Corresponding Member of the Rodin Remediation Academy, 1990-
- Elected Fellow of the AAAS, 1998
- William R. Kenan Jr. Chair of Psychology, 1999-
- Elected member of Electorate Nominating Committee, Section on Psychology, AAAS, 2006
- First place, Limestone Creek Hunter Pace, 2002, Tioughnioga Ruritan Hunter Pace 2005

VIVO: Cornell Research & Scholarship

Finlay, Barbara L.

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member of graduate field

Research

research overview

principal investigator on

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submitted impact statement

Publications

individual publications

academic article

article

chapter

editor of

featured in archived article

Teaching

teaching activities

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current professional activities

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education and training

awards and distinctions listing