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Related Experiment Videos

The primate neocortex in comparative perspective using magnetic resonance imaging.

J K Rilling1, T R Insel

  • 1Department of Anthropology and Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. jrillin@emory.edu

Journal of Human Evolution
|August 13, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Human brain evolution shows a uniquely enlarged neocortex and more convoluted prefrontal cortex than expected for primate brain size. White matter volume also increased faster than gray matter volume in humans.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Primatology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Human brain evolution is characterized by significant increases in overall size.
  • Understanding the specific proportional changes in brain structures is crucial for explaining human cognitive uniqueness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test if the human neocortex is disproportionately large for its brain size.
  • To investigate if the human prefrontal cortex exhibits greater convolution than expected.
  • To determine if white matter volume expansion outpaces gray matter expansion in the human lineage.

Main Methods:

  • Acquisition of whole brain MRI scans from 44 living primates across 11 species.
  • Utilizing image analysis software to quantify total brain volume, neocortical gray matter, and cerebral white matter volumes.

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  • Employing allometric regression analyses to compare relative brain structure sizes across species and against nonhuman primate trajectories.

    • Main Results:

    • All three tested hypotheses were statistically supported by the data.
    • The human neocortex is significantly larger than predicted by allometric scaling for primates of similar brain size.
    • The human prefrontal cortex is more convoluted, and white matter volume increased disproportionately more than neocortical gray matter volume.

    Conclusions:

    • Human brain evolution involved unique modifications to the neocortex beyond simple size increases.
    • These neuroanatomical specializations likely form the basis for distinctive human cognitive abilities.
    • The findings provide deeper insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of human uniqueness in the primate order.