File:Origins of Motivation in Sub-Primate Mammals.jpg

English: Illustration showing the origins of behavior in the primitive mammal condition wherein the part of the cortex that engages in thought (the mind) has not yet evolved. In the “mindless” mammals all complex behavior is driven by the brain’s executor of emotion, the anterior cingulate gyrus. The repertoire of essentially instinctive behavioral acts is generated by what, compared with the lower vertebrates, is a relatively sophisticated, cortical, motor command center. The distances senses (vision & hearing) convey biologically relevant perceptions to the anterior cingulate gyrus and the orbital cortex. The orbital cortex participates in mood by enabling the prediction of success or failure in any endeavor – a role it fulfils by weighing up information from the primitive senses (smell, taste, touch & pain), biological information from the sophisticated distance senses (vision & hearing) and the animal’s prevailing emotional and physiological condition. The living “mindless” mammals probably include all non-primates, except perhaps dogs and possibly their closest relatives, the seals and bears. The place where the mind would be in the primate brain is shown by the dashed lines.