The Evolved History

The Nervous System in Mammals

Image of two primates. From Wikipedia

Like birds, humans have a pallium, but it is overall less important for our higher reasoning skills. Instead, we have a specific neocortex above the pallium for all our complex cognitive processes.

The nervous system is also more precise peripherally in its ability to coordinate muscle movement, allowing mammals to move with greater intention while having many joints that need to coordinate together to produce effective motion.