A Model for Brain Life History Evolution

Mathematical modeling of brain evolution is scarce, possibly due in part to the difficulty of describing how brain relates to fitness. Yet such modeling is needed to formalize verbal arguments and deepen our understanding of brain evolution. To address this issue, we combine elements of life history and metabolic theories to formulate a metabolically explicit mathematical model for brain life history evolution. We assume that some of the brains energetic expense is due to production (learning) and maintenance (memory) of skills (or cognitive abilities, knowledge, information, etc.). We also assume that individuals use skills to extract energy from the environment, and can allocate this energ