Integrity principle of the evolution of associative centers in the vertebrate brain

Principle trends in the evolution of brain associative centers are discussed. It is demonstrated that in various taxonomic groups the possibilities of adaptive changes, as far as the brain is concerned, go beyond the scope of biological, topographical, and dynamic coordinations, typical for other scopes and systems. The reason for such peculiarity of brain evolution is the multifunctional nature of nerve tissue. This property of nerve tissue allows vertebrates to implement the integrity principle and still preserve the flexibility of the brain, which is highly specialized morphologically and functionally.