Emiliano Bruner, head of the Laboratory of Paleoneurobiology at CENIEH proposes a technique for analyzing the heat distribution of the cranial cavity as a function of the brain in the paper “Quantifying patterns of endocranial heat distribution: Brain geometry and thermoregulation” published in the American Journal of Human Biology to try to shed light on the brain mechanisms of thermoregulation.

The mechanisms involved in brain thermoregulation are still poorly known, and many disagreements still exist concerning the selective cooling capacity of the brain volume. This issue has also been discussed in human evolution and paleoneurology, speculating on possible changes associated with hominid encephalization. Although the vascular system is supposed to be the main component responsible for thermoregulation, brain geometry also plays an important role in the pattern of heat distribution.