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A Comparative Approach for Quantitative Cell Counting Studies in Widely Different Mammalian Brains

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Increased morphological asymmetry, evolvability and plasticity in human brain evolution.

Aida Gómez-Robles¹, William D Hopkins, Chet C Sherwood

¹Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA. aidagomezr@yahoo.es

Proceedings. Biological Sciences

|April 26, 2013

Summary

Human and chimpanzee brain evolution shows high evolvability and developmental plasticity. Asymmetric brain variation is continuous between species, with humans exhibiting a wider range, suggesting a role in cognitive evolution.

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Area of Science:

Paleoanthropology
Neuroscience
Evolutionary Biology

Background:

Hominin brain evolution is primarily studied through fossil endocranial morphology.
Endocasts offer limited insights into external brain morphology and anatomical details.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate inter- and intraspecific differences in cerebral morphology between chimpanzees and humans.
To specifically analyze asymmetric variation in brain morphology using geometric morphometrics.

Main Methods:

Utilized geometric morphometric techniques.
Analyzed in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of chimpanzees and humans.
Focused on both symmetric and asymmetric cerebral morphological variation.

Main Results:

Chimpanzee-human cerebral morphology differences are predominantly symmetric.
Asymmetric variation shows continuity between species, with humans displaying a greater range.
Asymmetric variation is not driven by allometric scaling within species; symmetric changes show minimal allometric effects.

Conclusions:

Hominin brain evolution is highly evolvable and responsive to selective pressures.
Both chimpanzee and human brains exhibit significant fluctuating asymmetry, indicating pronounced developmental plasticity.
These brain characteristics may have played a role in human cognitive evolution.