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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 3, 2026

Derivation, Expansion, Cryopreservation and Characterization of Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

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Evolutionary modifications in human brain connectivity associated with schizophrenia.

Martijn P van den Heuvel^1,2, Lianne H Scholtens¹, Siemon C de Lange¹

¹Connectome Lab, Department of Complex Traits Genetics, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Brain : a Journal of Neurology

|November 15, 2019

Summary

Human brain evolution may contribute to schizophrenia. Our study found human-specific brain connectivity patterns significantly overlap with schizophrenia-related changes, suggesting evolutionary modifications increase vulnerability to the disorder.

Keywords:

brain evolution connectome neuroimaging neuropathology schizophrenia

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Published on: March 21, 2019

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Evolutionary Biology
Psychiatry

Background:

Schizophrenia's genetic basis and human-specific nature suggest a role for human brain evolution.
Understanding brain connectivity changes in schizophrenia is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if evolutionary changes in human brain wiring are linked to schizophrenia.
To compare brain connectivity patterns between humans and chimpanzees in the context of schizophrenia.

Main Methods:

Compared in vivo neuroimaging data from humans and chimpanzees.
Contrasted connectome layouts and compared differences with schizophrenia-related changes.
Validated findings across three independent schizophrenia datasets.
Assessed specificity using seven other psychiatric/neurological disorders.

Main Results:

Evolutionary modifications in human brain connectivity significantly overlap with schizophrenia-related dysconnectivity patterns (P < 0.001).
This association was specific to schizophrenia, not observed in other disorders.
Human lineage-specific connectivity features showed the strongest link to schizophrenia.

Conclusions:

Human-specific connectome organization may be enriched for schizophrenia-related connectivity changes.
Evolutionary modifications supporting higher-order functions might also confer vulnerability to schizophrenia.
Findings suggest a potential link between human brain evolution and schizophrenia.