Amsterdam, 02 March 2009 – Coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin on February 12th, 2009, a special issue of Behavioural Processes "Comparative Cognition in Context" was published by Elsevier.
Guest edited by Karen Hollis, the special issue features 16 papers – original research articles as well as insightful theoretical reviews – by leading researchers in the field of comparative cognition, demonstrating how animals perceive, learn about and understand their physical and social worlds.
Prof. Karen Hollis of the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience & Behavior at Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, commented,"The articles document not only the rapidly expanding dimensions of comparative cognition – an expansion to new study species, new techniques and newly discovered abilities – but also the breadth and depth of the field's multidisciplinary analyses, a field that truly is a realization of Darwin's argument for mental, as well as morphological, continuities."
Titled "Comparative Cognition in Context", the special issue honors the scientific contributions of Sara J. Shettleworth, whose influential book, Cognition, Evolution, and Behavior (Oxford University Press) argues for an evolutionary approach to animal cognition. As Prof. Nicola Clayton, Nature author and contributor to the Special Issue remarked. "Darwin argued for continuities between the minds of animals and humans, claiming it was a case of differences in degree, rather than differences in kind."
"We are very fortunate and proud to have been able to publish, under the guidance of Prof. Karen Hollis, an issue documenting latest discoveries in the field of comparative cognition, and by doing so to mark the 200th anniversary of birth of the very man who identified this territory," commented Ewa Kittel-Prejs, the journal publisher.
About Darwin's Anniversary
All around the world, Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of his publication of On the Origin of Species are being celebrated in 2009. For the complete work of Charles Darwin online got to http://darwin-online.org.uk/
About Behavioural Processes
Behavioural Processes (http://www.elsevier.com.locate/behavproc) is dedicated to the publication of high-quality original research on animal behaviour from any theoretical perspective. It welcomes contributions that consider animal behaviour, from behavioural analytic, cognitive, ethological, ecological and evolutionary points of view. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, and papers that integrate theory and methodology across disciplines are particularly welcome. The quality of research and focus on these aspects are the sole criteria for acceptance. Papers reporting solely on human behaviour may be considered for publication if they relate closely to non-human research within the journal's remit. Authors of papers reporting research on human subjects are invited to contact the editors for advice prior to submission, as they are for papers of all kinds.
About Elsevier
Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the global science and health communities, Elsevier's 7,000 employees in over 70 offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such as ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), MD Consult (http://www.mdconsult.com/), Scopus (http://www.info.scopus.com/), bibliographic databases, and online reference works.
Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/) is a global business headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of Reed Elsevier Group plc (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical, legal, education and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier's ticker symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock Exchange).