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Evolution of prefrontal cortex.

Todd M Preuss1, Steven P Wise2

  • 1Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA. tpreuss@emory.edu.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) evolved distinct regions over time. While agranular areas are shared across mammals, granular PFC regions specific to primates expanded significantly in humans.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Neuroscience
  • Comparative anatomy

Background:

  • The prefrontal cortex (PFC) exhibits diverse subdivisions with varying evolutionary timelines.
  • Agranular regions of the PFC, common in early mammals, are inherited by modern species like rodents and primates.
  • These shared limbic areas include the agranular orbital cortex and medial frontal cortex (areas 24, 32, 25).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To delineate the evolutionary trajectory of prefrontal cortex (PFC) subdivisions.
  • To understand the differential contributions of rodent and primate models to PFC research.
  • To investigate the emergence and expansion of granular PFC areas in primate evolution.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of prefrontal cortex (PFC) evolution across mammalian lineages.
  • Tracing the emergence of granular and agranular PFC areas.
  • Examining evolutionary patterns in primates, including strepsirrhines and simians.

Main Results:

  • Agranular PFC areas are ancient, shared across mammals, providing insights from rodent studies.
  • Granular PFC areas evolved later, first appearing in early primates or their ancestors.
  • Further granular PFC areas developed sequentially in primate evolution, with significant expansion in humans.

Conclusions:

  • Primate-specific granular PFC areas evolved through a posterior-to-anterior accretion during primate evolution.
  • A major expansion of granular PFC occurred in humans, involving connectivity and gene expression changes.
  • Current evidence does not indicate a large number of entirely new, human-specific PFC areas.