just had a read about neural pathways on brittanica. it did not even mention evolution, as far as I could see

I think you expect a little much of brittanica! One of the most common way of training neural networks in computing is to generate a number of small variations from a 'parent', test each and eliminate those that are less successful at matching. This is then repeated over a large number of generations until one is found that is a good recogniser of whatever it is being trained for. Totally inspired by Darwinian concepts.

If you want me to give you a title for some books discussing the topic in rather more detail than Britannica, let me know.