The evolution of whole-body endothermy occurred independently in dinosaurs and mammals and was associated with some of the most significant neurocognitive shifts in life's history. These included a 20-fold increase in neurons and the evolution of new brain structures, supporting similar functions in both lineages. We propose the endothermic brain hypothesis, which holds that elaborations in endotherm brains were geared towards increasing caloric intake through efficient foraging. The hypothesis is grounded in the intrinsic coupling of cognition and organismic self-maintenance. We argue that coevolution of increased metabolism and new forms of cognition should be jointly investigated in comparative studies of behaviors and brain anatomy, along with studies of fossil species. We suggest avenues for such research and highlight critical open questions.

中文翻译：

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对食物的思考：吸热大脑假说


全身吸热的进化在恐龙和哺乳动物中独立发生，并与生命史上一些最重要的神经认知转变有关。其中包括神经元增加 20 倍和新大脑结构的进化，支持两个谱系的相似功能。我们提出了吸热脑假说，该假说认为吸热大脑的阐述旨在通过高效觅食来增加热量摄入。该假说基于认知和有机体自我维护的内在耦合。我们认为，新陈代谢增加和新认知形式的协同进化应该在行为和大脑解剖学的比较研究中与化石物种的研究一起进行研究。我们提出了此类研究的途径，并强调了关键的开放性问题。