The basic mechanisms are all the same. One can change its form but not its principles nor the fact of its existence. Life evolved on Earth through many species before the emergence of a humanoid form of animal. As it's intelligence increased, so did it's cognizance of environment and its ability to manipulate its environment in terms of symbols, conception, reasoning and language. The basis of intelligence is the ability to conceptualize and discriminate.
Brains are the outgrowth of simpler systems for sensing and adjusting to the environment.
In other words, the brain has evolved as a mechanism for interfacing with the environment. The human brain displays the progression of its development. The more primitive brain systems and brain stem are internal, the cognitive and reasoning functions having developed upon this. The cortex, where inductive reasoning occurs, the highest level of reasoning and the latest development, is the outermost layer of the brain. Eventually, As intelligent life emerges, it does so by gaining the capacity to symbolize, to manipulate its environment in terms of symbols.