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Melchionna M, Castiglione S, Girardi G, Serio C, Esposito A, Mondanaro A, Profico A, Sansalone G, Raia P. RRmorph-a new R package to map phenotypic evolutionary rates and patterns on 3D meshes. Commun Biol 2024; 7:1009. [PMID: 39154087 PMCID: PMC11330470 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06710-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The study of evolutionary rates and patterns is the key to understand how natural selection shaped the current and past diversity of phenotypes. Phylogenetic comparative methods offer an array of solutions to undertake this challenging task, and help understanding phenotypic variation in full in most circumstances. However, complex, three-dimensional structures such as the skull and the brain serve disparate goals, and different portions of these phenotypes often fulfil different functions, making it hard to understand which parts truly were recruited by natural selection. In the recent past, we developed tools apt to chart evolutionary rate and patterns directly on three-dimensional shapes, according to their magnitude and direction. Here, we present further developments of these tools, which now allow to restitute the mapping of rates and patterns with full biological realism. The tools are condensed in a new R software package.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Carmela Serio
- DiSTAR, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Gabriele Sansalone
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Pasquale Raia
- DiSTAR, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy.
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2
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Gao Y, Dong Q, Arachchilage KH, Risgaard R, Sheng J, Syed M, Schmidt DK, Jin T, Liu S, Knaack SA, Doherty D, Glass I, Levine JE, Wang D, Chang Q, Zhao X, Sousa AM. Multimodal analyses reveal genes driving electrophysiological maturation of neurons in the primate prefrontal cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.06.02.543460. [PMID: 37398253 PMCID: PMC10312516 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.02.543460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is critical for myriad high-cognitive functions and is associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders. Here, using Patch-seq and single-nucleus multiomic analyses, we identified genes and regulatory networks governing the maturation of distinct neuronal populations in the PFC of rhesus macaque. We discovered that specific electrophysiological properties exhibited distinct maturational kinetics and identified key genes underlying these properties. We unveiled that RAPGEF4 is important for the maturation of resting membrane potential and inward sodium current in both macaque and human. We demonstrated that knockdown of CHD8, a high-confidence autism risk gene, in human and macaque organotypic slices led to impaired maturation, via downregulation of key genes, including RAPGEF4. Restoring the expression of RAPGEF4 rescued the proper electrophysiological maturation of CHD8-deficient neurons. Our study revealed regulators of neuronal maturation during a critical period of PFC development in primates and implicated such regulators in molecular processes underlying autism.
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3
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Drzewiecki CM, Fox AS. Understanding the heterogeneity of anxiety using a translational neuroscience approach. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2024; 24:228-245. [PMID: 38356013 PMCID: PMC11039504 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-024-01162-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/14/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Anxiety disorders affect millions of people worldwide and present a challenge in neuroscience research because of their substantial heterogeneity in clinical presentation. While a great deal of progress has been made in understanding the neurobiology of fear and anxiety, these insights have not led to effective treatments. Understanding the relationship between phenotypic heterogeneity and the underlying biology is a critical first step in solving this problem. We show translation, reverse translation, and computational modeling can contribute to a refined, cross-species understanding of fear and anxiety as well as anxiety disorders. More specifically, we outline how animal models can be leveraged to develop testable hypotheses in humans by using targeted, cross-species approaches and ethologically informed behavioral paradigms. We discuss reverse translational approaches that can guide and prioritize animal research in nontraditional research species. Finally, we advocate for the use of computational models to harmonize cross-species and cross-methodology research into anxiety. Together, this translational neuroscience approach will help to bridge the widening gap between how we currently conceptualize and diagnose anxiety disorders, as well as aid in the discovery of better treatments for these conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carly M Drzewiecki
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
| | - Andrew S Fox
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.
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4
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Levy R. The prefrontal cortex: from monkey to man. Brain 2024; 147:794-815. [PMID: 37972282 PMCID: PMC10907097 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex is so important to human beings that, if deprived of it, our behaviour is reduced to action-reactions and automatisms, with no ability to make deliberate decisions. Why does the prefrontal cortex hold such importance in humans? In answer, this review draws on the proximity between humans and other primates, which enables us, through comparative anatomical-functional analysis, to understand the cognitive functions we have in common and specify those that distinguish humans from their closest cousins. First, a focus on the lateral region of the prefrontal cortex illustrates the existence of a continuum between rhesus monkeys (the most studied primates in neuroscience) and humans for most of the major cognitive functions in which this region of the brain plays a central role. This continuum involves the presence of elementary mental operations in the rhesus monkey (e.g. working memory or response inhibition) that are constitutive of 'macro-functions' such as planning, problem-solving and even language production. Second, the human prefrontal cortex has developed dramatically compared to that of other primates. This increase seems to concern the most anterior part (the frontopolar cortex). In humans, the development of the most anterior prefrontal cortex is associated with three major and interrelated cognitive changes: (i) a greater working memory capacity, allowing for greater integration of past experiences and prospective futures; (ii) a greater capacity to link discontinuous or distant data, whether temporal or semantic; and (iii) a greater capacity for abstraction, allowing humans to classify knowledge in different ways, to engage in analogical reasoning or to acquire abstract values that give rise to our beliefs and morals. Together, these new skills enable us, among other things, to develop highly sophisticated social interactions based on language, enabling us to conceive beliefs and moral judgements and to conceptualize, create and extend our vision of our environment beyond what we can physically grasp. Finally, a model of the transition of prefrontal functions between humans and non-human primates concludes this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Levy
- AP–HP, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Neurology, Sorbonne Université, Institute of Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease, 75013 Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM U1127, CNRS 7225, Paris Brain Institute- ICM, 75013 Paris, France
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5
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Gómez-Robles A, Nicolaou C, Smaers JB, Sherwood CC. The evolution of human altriciality and brain development in comparative context. Nat Ecol Evol 2024; 8:133-146. [PMID: 38049480 PMCID: PMC10781642 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-023-02253-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Human newborns are considered altricial compared with other primates because they are relatively underdeveloped at birth. However, in a broader comparative context, other mammals are more altricial than humans. It has been proposed that altricial development evolved secondarily in humans due to obstetrical or metabolic constraints, and in association with increased brain plasticity. To explore this association, we used comparative data from 140 placental mammals to measure how altriciality evolved in humans and other species. We also estimated how changes in brain size and gestation length influenced the timing of neurodevelopment during hominin evolution. Based on our data, humans show the highest evolutionary rate to become more altricial (measured as the proportion of adult brain size at birth) across all placental mammals, but this results primarily from the pronounced postnatal enlargement of brain size rather than neonatal changes. In addition, we show that only a small number of neurodevelopmental events were shifted to the postnatal period during hominin evolution, and that they were primarily related to the myelination of certain brain pathways. These results indicate that the perception of human altriciality is mostly driven by postnatal changes, and they point to a possible association between the timing of myelination and human neuroplasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aida Gómez-Robles
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK.
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK.
| | | | - Jeroen B Smaers
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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6
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Magielse N, Heuer K, Toro R, Schutter DJLG, Valk SL. A Comparative Perspective on the Cerebello-Cerebral System and Its Link to Cognition. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2023; 22:1293-1307. [PMID: 36417091 PMCID: PMC10657313 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-022-01495-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The longstanding idea that the cerebral cortex is the main neural correlate of human cognition can be elaborated by comparative analyses along the vertebrate phylogenetic tree that support the view that the cerebello-cerebral system is suited to support non-motor functions more generally. In humans, diverse accounts have illustrated cerebellar involvement in cognitive functions. Although the neocortex, and its transmodal association cortices such as the prefrontal cortex, have become disproportionately large over primate evolution specifically, human neocortical volume does not appear to be exceptional relative to the variability within primates. Rather, several lines of evidence indicate that the exceptional volumetric increase of the lateral cerebellum in conjunction with its connectivity with the cerebral cortical system may be linked to non-motor functions and mental operation in primates. This idea is supported by diverging cerebello-cerebral adaptations that potentially coevolve with cognitive abilities across other vertebrates such as dolphins, parrots, and elephants. Modular adaptations upon the vertebrate cerebello-cerebral system may thus help better understand the neuroevolutionary trajectory of the primate brain and its relation to cognition in humans. Lateral cerebellar lobules crura I-II and their reciprocal connections to the cerebral cortical association areas appear to have substantially expanded in great apes, and humans. This, along with the notable increase in the ventral portions of the dentate nucleus and a shift to increased relative prefrontal-cerebellar connectivity, suggests that modular cerebellar adaptations support cognitive functions in humans. In sum, we show how comparative neuroscience provides new avenues to broaden our understanding of cerebellar and cerebello-cerebral functions in the context of cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neville Magielse
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behaviour), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Otto Hahn Cognitive Neurogenetics Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Katja Heuer
- Institute Pasteur, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et Théorique, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Roberto Toro
- Institute Pasteur, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et Théorique, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Dennis J L G Schutter
- Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Sofie L Valk
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7: Brain and Behaviour), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
- Otto Hahn Cognitive Neurogenetics Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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7
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Mengxing L, Lerma-Usabiaga G, Clascá F, Paz-Alonso PM. High-Resolution Tractography Protocol to Investigate the Pathways between Human Mediodorsal Thalamic Nucleus and Prefrontal Cortex. J Neurosci 2023; 43:7780-7798. [PMID: 37709539 PMCID: PMC10648582 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0721-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal studies have established that the mediodorsal nucleus (MD) of the thalamus is heavily and reciprocally connected with all areas of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). In humans, however, these connections are difficult to investigate. High-resolution imaging protocols capable of reliably tracing the axonal tracts linking the human MD with each of the PFC areas may thus be key to advance our understanding of the variation, development, and plastic changes of these important circuits, in health and disease. Here, we tested in adult female and male humans the reliability of a new reconstruction protocol based on in vivo diffusion MRI to trace, measure, and characterize the fiber tracts interconnecting the MD with 39 human PFC areas per hemisphere. Our protocol comprised the following three components: (1) defining regions of interest; (2) preprocessing diffusion data; and, (3) modeling white matter tracts and tractometry. This analysis revealed largely separate PFC territories of reciprocal MD-PFC tracts bearing striking resemblance with the topographic layout observed in macaque connection-tracing studies. We then examined whether our protocol could reliably reconstruct each of these MD-PFC tracts and their profiles across test and retest sessions. Results revealed that this protocol was able to trace and measure, in both left and right hemispheres, the trajectories of these 39 area-specific axon bundles with good-to-excellent test-retest reproducibility. This protocol, which has been made publicly available, may be relevant for cognitive neuroscience and clinical studies of normal and abnormal PFC function, development, and plasticity.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Reciprocal MD-PFC interactions are critical for complex human cognition and learning. Reliably tracing, measuring and characterizing MD-PFC white matter tracts using high-resolution noninvasive methods is key to assess individual variation of these systems in humans. Here, we propose a high-resolution tractography protocol that reliably reconstructs 39 area-specific MD-PFC white matter tracts per hemisphere and quantifies structural information from diffusion MRI data. This protocol revealed a detailed mapping of thalamocortical and corticothalamic MD-PFC tracts in four different PFC territories (dorsal, medial, orbital/frontal pole, inferior frontal) showing structural connections resembling those observed in tracing studies with macaques. Furthermore, our automated protocol revealed high test-retest reproducibility and is made publicly available, constituting a step forward in mapping human MD-PFC circuits in clinical and academic research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liu Mengxing
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Garikoitz Lerma-Usabiaga
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48013 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Francisco Clascá
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Autónoma de Madrid University, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Pedro M Paz-Alonso
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, 20009 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48013 Bilbao, Spain
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8
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Stimpson CD, Smaers JB, Raghanti MA, Phillips KA, Jacobs B, Hopkins WD, Hof PR, Sherwood CC. Evolutionary scaling and cognitive correlates of primate frontal cortex microstructure. Brain Struct Funct 2023:10.1007/s00429-023-02719-7. [PMID: 37889302 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-023-02719-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023]
Abstract
Investigating evolutionary changes in frontal cortex microstructure is crucial to understanding how modifications of neuron and axon distributions contribute to phylogenetic variation in cognition. In the present study, we characterized microstructural components of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and primary motor cortex from 14 primate species using measurements of neuropil fraction and immunohistochemical markers for fast-spiking inhibitory interneurons, large pyramidal projection neuron subtypes, serotonergic innervation, and dopaminergic innervation. Results revealed that the rate of evolutionary change was similar across these microstructural variables, except for neuropil fraction, which evolves more slowly and displays the strongest correlation with brain size. We also found that neuropil fraction in orbitofrontal cortex layers V-VI was associated with cross-species variation in performance on experimental tasks that measure self-control. These findings provide insight into the evolutionary reorganization of the primate frontal cortex in relation to brain size scaling and its association with cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheryl D Stimpson
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
- DoD/USU Brain Tissue Repository and Neuropathology Program, Uniformed Services University (USU), Bethesda, MD, USA
- Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Jeroen B Smaers
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Mary Ann Raghanti
- Department of Anthropology and School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA
| | - Kimberley A Phillips
- Department of Psychology, Trinity University, San Antonio, TX, USA
- Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Bob Jacobs
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory of Quantitative Neuromorphology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO, USA
| | - William D Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, M D Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Center for Discovery and Innovation, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
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9
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Friederici AD. Evolutionary neuroanatomical expansion of Broca's region serving a human-specific function. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:786-796. [PMID: 37596132 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
The question concerning the evolution of language is directly linked to the debate on whether language and action are dependent or not and to what extent Broca's region serves as a common neural basis. The debate resulted in two opposing views, one arguing for and one against the dependence of language and action mainly based on neuroscientific data. This article presents an evolutionary neuroanatomical framework which may offer a solution to this dispute. It is proposed that in humans, Broca's region houses language and action independently in spatially separated subregions. This became possible due to an evolutionary expansion of Broca's region in the human brain, which was not paralleled by a similar expansion in the chimpanzee's brain, providing additional space needed for the neural representation of language in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela D Friederici
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuropsychology, Stephanstraße 1A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
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10
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Willbrand EH, Jackson S, Chen S, Hathaway CB, Voorhies WI, Bunge SA, Weiner KS. Sulcal variability in anterior lateral prefrontal cortex contributes to variability in reasoning performance among young adults. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.10.528061. [PMID: 36798378 PMCID: PMC9934691 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.10.528061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
Identifying structure-function correspondences is a major goal among biologists, cognitive neuroscientists, and brain mappers. Recent studies have identified relationships between performance on cognitive tasks and the presence or absence of small, shallow indentations, or sulci, of the human brain. Building on the previous finding that the presence of one such sulcus in the left anterior lateral prefrontal cortex (aLPFC) was related to reasoning task performance in children and adolescents, we tested whether this relationship extended to a different sample, age group, and reasoning task. As predicted, the presence of this aLPFC sulcus-the ventral para-intermediate frontal sulcus-was also associated with higher reasoning scores in young adults (ages 22-36). These findings have not only direct developmental, but also evolutionary relevance-as recent work shows that the pimfs-v is exceedingly rare in chimpanzees. Thus, the pimfs-v is a novel developmental, cognitive, and evolutionarily relevant feature that should be considered in future studies examining how the complex relationships among multiscale anatomical and functional features of the brain give rise to abstract thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan H. Willbrand
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI USA
- School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI USA
| | - Samantha Jackson
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Szeshuen Chen
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - Willa I. Voorhies
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Silvia A. Bunge
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Kevin S. Weiner
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
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11
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Giacometti C, Amiez C, Hadj-Bouziane F. Multiple routes of communication within the amygdala-mPFC network: A comparative approach in humans and macaques. CURRENT RESEARCH IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2023; 5:100103. [PMID: 37601951 PMCID: PMC10432920 DOI: 10.1016/j.crneur.2023.100103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023] Open
Abstract
The network formed by the amygdala (AMG) and the medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC), at the interface between our internal and external environment, has been shown to support some important aspects of behavioral adaptation. Whether and how the anatomo-functional organization of this network evolved across primates remains unclear. Here, we compared AMG nuclei morphological characteristics and their functional connectivity with the mPFC in humans and macaques to identify potential homologies and differences between these species. Based on selected studies, we highlight two subsystems within the AMG-mPFC circuits, likely involved in distinct temporal dynamics of integration during behavioral adaptation. We also show that whereas the mPFC displays a large expansion but a preserved intrinsic anatomo-functional organization, the AMG displays a volume reduction and morphological changes related to specific nuclei. We discuss potential commonalities and differences in the dialogue between AMG nuclei and mPFC in humans and macaques based on available data.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Giacometti
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500, Bron, France
| | - C. Amiez
- Univ Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, 69500, Bron, France
| | - F. Hadj-Bouziane
- Integrative Multisensory Perception Action & Cognition Team (ImpAct), INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), University of Lyon 1, Lyon, France
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12
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Willbrand EH, Maboudian SA, Kelly JP, Parker BJ, Foster BL, Weiner KS. Sulcal morphology of posteromedial cortex substantially differs between humans and chimpanzees. Commun Biol 2023; 6:586. [PMID: 37264068 PMCID: PMC10235074 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04953-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/18/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies identify a surprising coupling between evolutionarily new sulci and the functional organization of human posteromedial cortex (PMC). Yet, no study has compared this modern PMC sulcal patterning between humans and non-human hominoids. To fill this gap in knowledge, we first manually defined over 2500 PMC sulci in 120 chimpanzee (Pan Troglodytes) hemispheres and 144 human hemispheres. We uncovered four new sulci, and quantitatively identified species differences in sulcal incidence, depth, and surface area. Interestingly, some sulci are more common in humans and others, in chimpanzees. Further, we found that the prominent marginal ramus of the cingulate sulcus differs significantly between species. Contrary to classic observations, the present results reveal that the surface anatomy of PMC substantially differs between humans and chimpanzees-findings which lay a foundation for better understanding the evolution of neuroanatomical-functional and neuroanatomical-behavioral relationships in this highly expanded region of the human cerebral cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan H Willbrand
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Samira A Maboudian
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Joseph P Kelly
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Benjamin J Parker
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Brett L Foster
- Department of Neurosurgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Kevin S Weiner
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
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13
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Rouzitalab A, Boulay CB, Park J, Martinez-Trujillo JC, Sachs AJ. Ensembles code for associative learning in the primate lateral prefrontal cortex. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112449. [PMID: 37119136 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) of primates is thought to play a role in associative learning. However, it remains unclear how LPFC neuronal ensembles dynamically encode and store memories for arbitrary stimulus-response associations. We recorded the activity of neurons in LPFC of two macaques during an associative learning task using multielectrode arrays. During task trials, the color of a symbolic cue indicated the location of one of two possible targets for a saccade. During a trial block, multiple randomly chosen associations were learned by the subjects. A state-space analysis indicated that LPFC neuronal ensembles rapidly learn new stimulus-response associations mirroring the animals' learning. Multiple associations acquired during training are stored in a neuronal subspace and can be retrieved hours after learning. Finally, knowledge of old associations facilitates learning new, similar associations. These results indicate that neuronal ensembles in the primate LPFC provide a flexible and dynamic substrate for associative learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alireza Rouzitalab
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 9A7, Canada; The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4E9, Canada.
| | - Chadwick B Boulay
- The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4E9, Canada; Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada
| | - Jeongwon Park
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 9A7, Canada; Department of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USA
| | - Julio C Martinez-Trujillo
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Psychiatry, and Western Institute for Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5K8, Canada.
| | - Adam J Sachs
- The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4E9, Canada; Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1H 8M5, Canada.
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14
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Schwartz E, Nenning KH, Heuer K, Jeffery N, Bertrand OC, Toro R, Kasprian G, Prayer D, Langs G. Evolution of cortical geometry and its link to function, behaviour and ecology. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2252. [PMID: 37080952 PMCID: PMC10119184 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37574-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies in comparative neuroanatomy and of the fossil record demonstrate the influence of socio-ecological niches on the morphology of the cerebral cortex, but have led to oftentimes conflicting theories about its evolution. Here, we study the relationship between the shape of the cerebral cortex and the topography of its function. We establish a joint geometric representation of the cerebral cortices of ninety species of extant Euarchontoglires, including commonly used experimental model organisms. We show that variability in surface geometry relates to species' ecology and behaviour, independent of overall brain size. Notably, ancestral shape reconstruction of the cortical surface and its change during evolution enables us to trace the evolutionary history of localised cortical expansions, modal segregation of brain function, and their association to behaviour and cognition. We find that individual cortical regions follow different sequences of area increase during evolutionary adaptations to dynamic socio-ecological niches. Anatomical correlates of this sequence of events are still observable in extant species, and relate to their current behaviour and ecology. We decompose the deep evolutionary history of the shape of the human cortical surface into spatially and temporally conscribed components with highly interpretable functional associations, highlighting the importance of considering the evolutionary history of cortical regions when studying their anatomy and function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ernst Schwartz
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Karl-Heinz Nenning
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, NY, USA
| | - Katja Heuer
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et Théorique, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Nathan Jeffery
- Institute of Life Course & Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, England
| | - Ornella C Bertrand
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès., Barcelona, Spain
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Grant Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH9 3FE, United Kingdom
| | - Roberto Toro
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unité de Neuroanatomie Appliquée et Théorique, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Gregor Kasprian
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniela Prayer
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Georg Langs
- Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Computational Imaging Research Lab, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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15
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Ngo GN, Hori Y, Everling S, Menon RS. Joint-embeddings reveal functional differences in default-mode network architecture between marmosets and humans. Neuroimage 2023; 272:120035. [PMID: 36948281 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The default-mode network (DMN) is a distributed functional brain system integral for social and higher-order cognition in humans with implications in a myriad of neuropsychological disorders. In this study, we compared the functional architecture of the DMN between humans and marmosets to assess their similarities and differences using joint gradients. This approach permits simultaneous large-scale mapping of functional systems across the cortex of humans and marmosets, revealing evidence of putative homologies between them. In doing so, we find that the DMN architecture of the marmoset exhibits differences along its anterolateral-posterior axis. Specifically, the anterolateral node of the DMN (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) displayed weak connections and inconsistent connection topographies as compared to its posterior DMN-nodes (posterior cingulate and posterior parietal cortices). We also present evidence that the marmoset medial prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe areas correspond to other macroscopical distributed functional systems that are not part of the DMN. Given the importance of the marmoset as a pre-clinical primate model for higher-order cognitive functioning and the DMN's relevance to cognition, our results suggest that the marmoset may lack the capacity to integrate neural information to subserve cortical dynamics that is necessary for supporting diverse cognitive demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geoffrey N Ngo
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Yuki Hori
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada; Department of Functional Brain Imaging, National Institutes of Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Chiba 263-8555, Japan
| | - Stefan Everling
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada
| | - Ravi S Menon
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5C1, Canada.; Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada.
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16
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Vanderhaeghen P, Polleux F. Developmental mechanisms underlying the evolution of human cortical circuits. Nat Rev Neurosci 2023; 24:213-232. [PMID: 36792753 PMCID: PMC10064077 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-023-00675-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
Abstract
The brain of modern humans has evolved remarkable computational abilities that enable higher cognitive functions. These capacities are tightly linked to an increase in the size and connectivity of the cerebral cortex, which is thought to have resulted from evolutionary changes in the mechanisms of cortical development. Convergent progress in evolutionary genomics, developmental biology and neuroscience has recently enabled the identification of genomic changes that act as human-specific modifiers of cortical development. These modifiers influence most aspects of corticogenesis, from the timing and complexity of cortical neurogenesis to synaptogenesis and the assembly of cortical circuits. Mutations of human-specific genetic modifiers of corticogenesis have started to be linked to neurodevelopmental disorders, providing evidence for their physiological relevance and suggesting potential relationships between the evolution of the human brain and its sensitivity to specific diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Vanderhaeghen
- VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium.
- Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Franck Polleux
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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17
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Bruner E, Beaudet A. The brain of Homo habilis: Three decades of paleoneurology. J Hum Evol 2023; 174:103281. [PMID: 36455402 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
In 1987, Phillip Tobias published a comprehensive anatomical analysis of the endocasts attributed to Homo habilis, discussing issues dealing with brain size, sulcal patterns, and vascular traces. He suggested that the neuroanatomy of this species evidenced a clear change toward many cerebral traits associated with our genus, mostly when concerning the morphology of the frontal and parietal cortex. After more than 30 years, the fossil record associated with this taxon has not grown that much, but we have much more information on cranial and brain biology, and we are using a larger array of digital methods to investigate the paleoneurological variation observed in the human genus. Brain volume, the size of the frontal lobe, or the gross hemispheric asymmetries are still relevant issues, but they are considered to be less central than before. More attention is instead being paid to the cortical organization, the relationships with the cranial architecture, and the influence of molecular or ecological factors. Although the field of paleoneurology can currently count on a larger range of tools and principles, there is still a general lack of anatomical information on many endocranial traits. This aspect is probably crucial for the agenda of paleoneurology. More importantly, the whole science is undergoing a delicate change, because of the growing influence of the social environment. In this sense, the disciplines working with fossils (and, in particular, with brain evolution) should take particular care to maintain a healthy professional situation, avoiding an excess of speculation and overstatement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emiliano Bruner
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain.
| | - Amélie Beaudet
- University of Cambridge, Henry Wellcome Building, Fitzwilliam St, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UK; School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, South Africa; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Carrer de l'Escola Industrial, 23, 08201 Sabadell, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
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18
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Miyagawa S, Arévalo A, Nóbrega VA. On the representation of hierarchical structure: Revisiting Darwin's musical protolanguage. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:1018708. [PMID: 36438635 PMCID: PMC9692108 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.1018708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article, we address the tenability of Darwin's musical protolanguage, arguing that a more compelling evolutionary scenario is one where a prosodic protolanguage is taken to be the preliminary step to represent the hierarchy involved in linguistic structures within a linear auditory signal. We hypothesize that the establishment of a prosodic protolanguage results from an enhancement of a rhythmic system that transformed linear signals into speech prosody, which in turn can mark syntactic hierarchical relations. To develop this claim, we explore the role of prosodic cues on the parsing of syntactic structures, as well as neuroscientific evidence connecting the evolutionary development of music and linguistic capacities. Finally, we entertain the assumption that the capacity to generate hierarchical structure might have developed as part of tool-making in human prehistory, and hence was established prior to the enhancement of a prosodic protolinguistic system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeru Miyagawa
- Department of Linguistics and Philosophy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States
- Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Analía Arévalo
- School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Vitor A. Nóbrega
- Institute of Romance Studies, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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19
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Galakhova AA, Hunt S, Wilbers R, Heyer DB, de Kock CPJ, Mansvelder HD, Goriounova NA. Evolution of cortical neurons supporting human cognition. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:909-922. [PMID: 36117080 PMCID: PMC9561064 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Human cognitive abilities are generally thought to arise from cortical expansion over the course of human brain evolution. In addition to increased neuron numbers, this cortical expansion might be driven by adaptations in the properties of single neurons and their local circuits. We review recent findings on the distinct structural, functional, and transcriptomic features of human cortical neurons and their organization in cortical microstructure. We focus on the supragranular cortical layers, which showed the most prominent expansion during human brain evolution, and the properties of their principal cells: pyramidal neurons. We argue that the evolutionary adaptations in neuronal features that accompany the expansion of the human cortex partially underlie interindividual variability in human cognitive abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- A A Galakhova
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - S Hunt
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - R Wilbers
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - D B Heyer
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - C P J de Kock
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - H D Mansvelder
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands
| | - N A Goriounova
- Department of Integrative Neurophysiology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research (CNCR), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam 1081 HV, The Netherlands.
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20
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Ma S, Skarica M, Li Q, Xu C, Risgaard RD, Tebbenkamp AT, Mato-Blanco X, Kovner R, Krsnik Ž, de Martin X, Luria V, Martí-Pérez X, Liang D, Karger A, Schmidt DK, Gomez-Sanchez Z, Qi C, Gobeske KT, Pochareddy S, Debnath A, Hottman CJ, Spurrier J, Teo L, Boghdadi AG, Homman-Ludiye J, Ely JJ, Daadi EW, Mi D, Daadi M, Marín O, Hof PR, Rasin MR, Bourne J, Sherwood CC, Santpere G, Girgenti MJ, Strittmatter SM, Sousa AM, Sestan N. Molecular and cellular evolution of the primate dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Science 2022; 377:eabo7257. [PMID: 36007006 PMCID: PMC9614553 DOI: 10.1126/science.abo7257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The granular dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is an evolutionary specialization of primates that is centrally involved in cognition. We assessed more than 600,000 single-nucleus transcriptomes from adult human, chimpanzee, macaque, and marmoset dlPFC. Although most cell subtypes defined transcriptomically are conserved, we detected several that exist only in a subset of species as well as substantial species-specific molecular differences across homologous neuronal, glial, and non-neural subtypes. The latter are exemplified by human-specific switching between expression of the neuropeptide somatostatin and tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in dopamine production in certain interneurons. The above molecular differences are also illustrated by expression of the neuropsychiatric risk gene FOXP2, which is human-specific in microglia and primate-specific in layer 4 granular neurons. We generated a comprehensive survey of the dlPFC cellular repertoire and its shared and divergent features in anthropoid primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaojie Ma
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Mario Skarica
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Qian Li
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Chuan Xu
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Ryan D. Risgaard
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Medical Scientist Training Program, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | | | - Xoel Mato-Blanco
- Neurogenomics Group, Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics (GRIB), Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), MELIS, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Rothem Kovner
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Željka Krsnik
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Xabier de Martin
- Neurogenomics Group, Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics (GRIB), Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), MELIS, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Victor Luria
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Xavier Martí-Pérez
- Neurogenomics Group, Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics (GRIB), Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), MELIS, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Dan Liang
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Amir Karger
- IT-Research Computing, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Danielle K. Schmidt
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Zachary Gomez-Sanchez
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Cai Qi
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Kevin T. Gobeske
- Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology, Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Sirisha Pochareddy
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Ashwin Debnath
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Cade J. Hottman
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Joshua Spurrier
- Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06536, USA
| | - Leon Teo
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, 15 Innovation Walk, Monash University, Clayton VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Anthony G. Boghdadi
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, 15 Innovation Walk, Monash University, Clayton VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Jihane Homman-Ludiye
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, 15 Innovation Walk, Monash University, Clayton VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - John J. Ely
- MAEBIOS, Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Etienne W. Daadi
- Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Da Mi
- Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Marcel Daadi
- Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, USA
- Department of Cell Systems & Anatomy, Radiology, Long School of Medicine, UT Health San Antonio
- NeoNeuron LLC, Palo Alto, CA 94306, USA
| | - Oscar Marín
- Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London SE1 1UL, UK
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King’s College London, London SE1 1UL, UK
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Mladen-Roko Rasin
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - James Bourne
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, 15 Innovation Walk, Monash University, Clayton VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Chet C. Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Gabriel Santpere
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Neurogenomics Group, Research Programme on Biomedical Informatics (GRIB), Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), MELIS, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08003 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Matthew J. Girgenti
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- National Center for PTSD, US Department of Veterans Affairs, White River Junction, VT, USA
| | - Stephen M. Strittmatter
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06536, USA
- Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - André M.M. Sousa
- Waisman Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Nenad Sestan
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Departments of Genetics and Comparative Medicine, Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair, and Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
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21
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Kemmerer D. Revisiting the relation between syntax, action, and left BA44. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:923022. [PMID: 36211129 PMCID: PMC9537576 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.923022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Among the many lines of research that have been exploring how embodiment contributes to cognition, one focuses on how the neural substrates of language may be shared, or at least closely coupled, with those of action. This paper revisits a particular proposal that has received considerable attention—namely, that the forms of hierarchical sequencing that characterize both linguistic syntax and goal-directed action are underpinned partly by common mechanisms in left Brodmann area (BA) 44, a cortical region that is not only classically regarded as part of Broca’s area, but is also a core component of the human Mirror Neuron System. First, a recent multi-participant, multi-round debate about this proposal is summarized together with some other relevant findings. This review reveals that while the proposal is supported by a variety of theoretical arguments and empirical results, it still faces several challenges. Next, a narrower application of the proposal is discussed, specifically involving the basic word order of subject (S), object (O), and verb (V) in simple transitive clauses. Most languages are either SOV or SVO, and, building on prior work, it is argued that these strong syntactic tendencies derive from how left BA44 represents the sequential-hierarchical structure of goal-directed actions. Finally, with the aim of clarifying what it might mean for syntax and action to have “common” neural mechanisms in left BA44, two different versions of the main proposal are distinguished. Hypothesis 1 states that the very same neural mechanisms in left BA44 subserve some aspects of hierarchical sequencing for syntax and action, whereas Hypothesis 2 states that anatomically distinct but functionally parallel neural mechanisms in left BA44 subserve some aspects of hierarchical sequencing for syntax and action. Although these two hypotheses make different predictions, at this point neither one has significantly more explanatory power than the other, and further research is needed to elaborate and test them.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Kemmerer
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IND, United States
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IND, United States
- *Correspondence: David Kemmerer,
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22
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Cantwell A, Buckholtz J, Atencia R, Rosati AG. The origins of cognitive flexibility in chimpanzees. Dev Sci 2022; 25:e13266. [PMID: 35397187 PMCID: PMC9841514 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility is a core component of executive function, a suite of cognitive capacities that enables individuals to update their behavior in dynamic environments. Human executive functions are proposed to be enhanced compared to other species, but this inference is based primarily on neuroanatomical studies. To address this, we examined the nature and origins of cognitive flexibility in chimpanzees, our closest living relatives. Across three studies, we examined different components of cognitive flexibility using reversal learning tasks where individuals first learned one contingency and then had to shift responses when contingencies flipped. In Study 1, we tested n = 82 chimpanzees ranging from juvenility to adulthood on a spatial reversal task, to characterize the development of basic shifting skills. In Study 2, we tested how n = 24 chimpanzees use spatial versus arbitrary perceptual information to shift, a proposed difference between human and nonhuman cognition. In Study 3, we tested n = 40 chimpanzees on a probabilistic reversal task. We found an extended developmental trajectory for basic shifting and shifting in response to probabilistic feedback-chimpanzees did not reach mature performance until late in ontogeny. Additionally, females were faster to shift than males were. We also found that chimpanzees were much more successful when using spatial versus perceptual cues, and highly perseverative when faced with probabilistic versus consistent outcomes. These results identify both core features of chimpanzee cognitive flexibility that are shared with humans, as well as constraints on chimpanzee cognitive flexibility that may represent evolutionary changes in human cognitive development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Averill Cantwell
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA,,
| | | | - Rebeca Atencia
- Jane Goodall Institute Congo, Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo
| | - Alexandra G Rosati
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA,Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI USA,,
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23
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Dehaene S, Al Roumi F, Lakretz Y, Planton S, Sablé-Meyer M. Symbols and mental programs: a hypothesis about human singularity. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:751-766. [PMID: 35933289 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Natural language is often seen as the single factor that explains the cognitive singularity of the human species. Instead, we propose that humans possess multiple internal languages of thought, akin to computer languages, which encode and compress structures in various domains (mathematics, music, shape…). These languages rely on cortical circuits distinct from classical language areas. Each is characterized by: (i) the discretization of a domain using a small set of symbols, and (ii) their recursive composition into mental programs that encode nested repetitions with variations. In various tasks of elementary shape or sequence perception, minimum description length in the proposed languages captures human behavior and brain activity, whereas non-human primate data are captured by simpler nonsymbolic models. Our research argues in favor of discrete symbolic models of human thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stanislas Dehaene
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France; Collège de France, Université Paris-Sciences-Lettres (PSL), 11 Place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - Fosca Al Roumi
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Yair Lakretz
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Samuel Planton
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
| | - Mathias Sablé-Meyer
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, CEA, INSERM, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, 91191 Gif/Yvette, France
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24
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Boshra R, Kastner S. Attention control in the primate brain. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 76:102605. [PMID: 35850060 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Attention is fundamental to all cognition. In the primate brain, it is implemented by a large-scale network that consists of areas spanning across all major lobes, also including subcortical regions. Classical attention accounts assume that control over the selection process in this network is exerted by 'top-down' mechanisms in the fronto-parietal cortex that influence sensory representations via feedback signals. More recent studies have expanded this view of attentional control. In this review, we will start from a traditional top-down account of attention control, and then discuss more recent findings on feature-based attention, thalamic influences, temporal network dynamics, and behavioral dynamics that collectively lead to substantial modifications. We outline how the different emerging accounts can be reconciled and integrated into a unified theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rober Boshra
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
| | - Sabine Kastner
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA.
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25
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Bagi B, Brecht M, Sanguinetti-Scheck JI. Unsupervised discovery of behaviorally relevant brain states in rats playing hide-and-seek. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2640-2653.e4. [PMID: 35588745 PMCID: PMC9245901 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
In classical neuroscience experiments, neural activity is measured across many identical trials of animals performing simple tasks and is then analyzed, associating neural responses to pre-defined experimental parameters. This type of analysis is not suitable for patterns of behavior that unfold freely, such as play behavior. Here, we attempt an alternative approach for exploratory data analysis on a single-trial level, applicable in more complex and naturalistic behavioral settings in which no two trials are identical. We analyze neural population activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of rats playing hide-and-seek and show that it is possible to discover what aspects of the task are reflected in the recorded activity with a limited number of simultaneously recorded cells (≤ 31). Using hidden Markov models, we cluster population activity in the PFC into a set of neural states, each associated with a pattern of neural activity. Despite high variability in behavior, relating the inferred states to the events of the hide-and-seek game reveals neural states that consistently appear at the same phases of the game. Furthermore, we show that by applying the segmentation inferred from neural data to the animals' behavior, we can explore and discover novel correlations between neural activity and behavior. Finally, we replicate the results in a second dataset and show that population activity in the PFC displays distinct sets of states during playing hide-and-seek and observing others play the game. Overall, our results reveal robust, state-like representations in the rat PFC during unrestrained playful behavior and showcase the applicability of population analyses in naturalistic neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bence Bagi
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany; Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Michael Brecht
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany; NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Juan Ignacio Sanguinetti-Scheck
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany; Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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26
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Luppi AI, Mediano PAM, Rosas FE, Holland N, Fryer TD, O'Brien JT, Rowe JB, Menon DK, Bor D, Stamatakis EA. A synergistic core for human brain evolution and cognition. Nat Neurosci 2022; 25:771-782. [PMID: 35618951 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01070-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
How does the organization of neural information processing enable humans' sophisticated cognition? Here we decompose functional interactions between brain regions into synergistic and redundant components, revealing their distinct information-processing roles. Combining functional and structural neuroimaging with meta-analytic results, we demonstrate that redundant interactions are predominantly associated with structurally coupled, modular sensorimotor processing. Synergistic interactions instead support integrative processes and complex cognition across higher-order brain networks. The human brain leverages synergistic information to a greater extent than nonhuman primates, with high-synergy association cortices exhibiting the highest degree of evolutionary cortical expansion. Synaptic density mapping from positron emission tomography and convergent molecular and metabolic evidence demonstrate that synergistic interactions are supported by receptor diversity and human-accelerated genes underpinning synaptic function. This information-resolved approach provides analytic tools to disentangle information integration from coupling, enabling richer, more accurate interpretations of functional connectivity, and illuminating how the human neurocognitive architecture navigates the trade-off between robustness and integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,The Alan Turing Institute, London, UK.
| | - Pedro A M Mediano
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Fernando E Rosas
- Center for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London, UK.,Data Science Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK.,Center for Complexity Science, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Negin Holland
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Tim D Fryer
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - John T O'Brien
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - James B Rowe
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK.,MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - David K Menon
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Daniel Bor
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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27
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Irie K, Doi M, Usui N, Shimada S. Evolution of the Human Brain Can Help Determine Pathophysiology of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:871979. [PMID: 35431788 PMCID: PMC9010664 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.871979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of humans brought about a co-occurring evolution of the human brain, which is far larger and more complex than that of many other organisms. The brain has evolved characteristically in humans in many respects, including macro-and micro-anatomical changes in the brain structure, changes in gene expression, and cell populations and ratios. These characteristics are essential for the execution of higher functions, such as sociality, language, and cognition, which express humanity, and are thought to have been acquired over evolutionary time. However, with the acquisition of higher functions also comes the risk of the disease in which they fail. This review focuses on human brain evolution and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) and discusses brain development, molecular evolution, and human brain evolution. Discussing the potential for the development and pathophysiology of NDDs acquired by human brain evolution will provide insights into the acquisition and breakdown of higher functions from a new perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koichiro Irie
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- Center for Medical Research and Education, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
| | - Miyuki Doi
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
| | - Noriyoshi Usui
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- Addiction Research Unit, Osaka Psychiatric Research Center, Osaka Psychiatric Medical Center, Osaka, Japan
- *Correspondence: Noriyoshi Usui,
| | - Shoichi Shimada
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- United Graduate School of Child Development, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, Suita, Japan
- Addiction Research Unit, Osaka Psychiatric Research Center, Osaka Psychiatric Medical Center, Osaka, Japan
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28
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DeCasien AR, Barton RA, Higham JP. Understanding the human brain: insights from comparative biology. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:432-445. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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29
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The evolution of combinatoriality and compositionality in hominid tool use: a comparative perspective. INT J PRIMATOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-021-00267-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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30
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Schutter DJLG. The Cerebellum and Disorders of Emotion. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2022; 1378:273-283. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-99550-8_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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31
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Preuss TM, Wise SP. Evolution of prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:3-19. [PMID: 34363014 PMCID: PMC8617185 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01076-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Subdivisions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) evolved at different times. Agranular parts of the PFC emerged in early mammals, and rodents, primates, and other modern mammals share them by inheritance. These are limbic areas and include the agranular orbital cortex and agranular medial frontal cortex (areas 24, 32, and 25). Rodent research provides valuable insights into the structure, functions, and development of these shared areas, but it contributes less to parts of the PFC that are specific to primates, namely, the granular, isocortical PFC that dominates the frontal lobe in humans. The first granular PFC areas evolved either in early primates or in the last common ancestor of primates and tree shrews. Additional granular PFC areas emerged in the primate stem lineage, as represented by modern strepsirrhines. Other granular PFC areas evolved in simians, the group that includes apes, humans, and monkeys. In general, PFC accreted new areas along a roughly posterior to anterior trajectory during primate evolution. A major expansion of the granular PFC occurred in humans in concert with other association areas, with modifications of corticocortical connectivity and gene expression, although current evidence does not support the addition of a large number of new, human-specific PFC areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Todd M Preuss
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA.
| | - Steven P Wise
- Olschefskie Institute for the Neurobiology of Knowledge, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA
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32
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Read DW, Manrique HM, Walker MJ. On the Working Memory of Humans and Great Apes: Strikingly Similar or Remarkably Different? Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 134:104496. [PMID: 34919985 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
In this article we review publications relevant to addressing widely reported claims in both the academic and popular press that chimpanzees working memory (WM) is comparable to, if not exceeding, that of humans. WM is a complex multidimensional construct with strong parallels in humans to prefrontal cortex and cognitive development. These parallels occur in chimpanzees, but to a lesser degree. We review empirical evidence and conclude that the size of WM in chimpanzees is 2 ± 1 versus Miller's famous 7 ± 2 in humans. Comparable differences occur in experiments on chimpanzees relating to strategic and attentional WM subsystems. Regardless of the domain, chimpanzee WM performance is comparable to that of humans around the age of 4 or 5. Next, we review evidence showing parallels among the evolution of WM capacity in hominins ancestral to Homo sapiens, the phylogenetic evolution of hominins leading to Homo sapiens, and evolution in the complexity of stone tool technology over this time period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dwight W Read
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA; Department of Statistics, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Héctor M Manrique
- Departamento de Psicología y Sociología, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Michael J Walker
- Department of Zoology and Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
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33
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Wang Y, Zhao B, Choi J, Lee EA. Genomic approaches to trace the history of human brain evolution with an emerging opportunity for transposon profiling of ancient humans. Mob DNA 2021; 12:22. [PMID: 34663455 PMCID: PMC8525043 DOI: 10.1186/s13100-021-00250-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Transposable elements (TEs) significantly contribute to shaping the diversity of the human genome, and lines of evidence suggest TEs as one of driving forces of human brain evolution. Existing computational approaches, including cross-species comparative genomics and population genetic modeling, can be adapted for the study of the role of TEs in evolution. In particular, diverse ancient and archaic human genome sequences are increasingly available, allowing reconstruction of past human migration events and holding the promise of identifying and tracking TEs among other evolutionarily important genetic variants at an unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution. However, highly degraded short DNA templates and other unique challenges presented by ancient human DNA call for major changes in current experimental and computational procedures to enable the identification of evolutionarily important TEs. Ancient human genomes are valuable resources for investigating TEs in the evolutionary context, and efforts to explore ancient human genomes will potentially provide a novel perspective on the genetic mechanism of human brain evolution and inspire a variety of technological and methodological advances. In this review, we summarize computational and experimental approaches that can be adapted to identify and validate evolutionarily important TEs, especially for human brain evolution. We also highlight strategies that leverage ancient genomic data and discuss unique challenges in ancient transposon genomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yilan Wang
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Boxun Zhao
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jaejoon Choi
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Eunjung Alice Lee
- Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- The Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Manton Center for Orphan Disease Research, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
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34
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Güntürkün O, von Eugen K, Packheiser J, Pusch R. Avian pallial circuits and cognition: A comparison to mammals. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 71:29-36. [PMID: 34562800 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive functions are similar in birds and mammals. So, are therefore pallial cellular circuits and neuronal computations also alike? In search of answers, we move in from bird's pallial connectomes, to cortex-like sensory canonical circuits and connections, to forebrain micro-circuitries and finally to the avian "prefrontal" area. This voyage from macro- to micro-scale networks and areas reveals that both birds and mammals evolved similar neural and computational properties in either convergent or parallel manner, based upon circuitries inherited from common ancestry. Thus, these two vertebrate classes evolved separately within 315 million years with highly similar pallial architectures that produce comparable cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Onur Güntürkün
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Kaya von Eugen
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany
| | - Julian Packheiser
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany
| | - Roland Pusch
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany
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35
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Ploski JE, Vaidya VA. The Neurocircuitry of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Major Depression: Insights Into Overlapping and Distinct Circuit Dysfunction-A Tribute to Ron Duman. Biol Psychiatry 2021; 90:109-117. [PMID: 34052037 PMCID: PMC8383211 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 04/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The neurocircuitry that contributes to the pathophysiology of posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder, psychiatric conditions that exhibit a high degree of comorbidity, likely involves both overlapping and unique structural and functional changes within multiple limbic brain regions. In this review, we discuss neurobiological alterations that are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder and highlight both similarities and differences that may exist between these disorders to argue for the existence of a shared neurobiology. We highlight the key contributions based on preclinical studies, emerging from the late Professor Ronald Duman's research, that have shaped our understanding of the neurocircuitry that contributes to both the etiopathology and treatment of major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan E. Ploski
- Department of Neuroscience and Molecular & Cell Biology, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, GR41, 800 W Campbell Road, Richardson, TX 75080-3021, USA
| | - Vidita A. Vaidya
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, 1 Homi Bhabha Road, Colaba, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400005, India
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36
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Liu X, Eickhoff SB, Caspers S, Wu J, Genon S, Hoffstaedter F, Mars RB, Sommer IE, Eickhoff CR, Chen J, Jardri R, Reetz K, Dogan I, Aleman A, Kogler L, Gruber O, Caspers J, Mathys C, Patil KR. Functional parcellation of human and macaque striatum reveals human-specific connectivity in the dorsal caudate. Neuroimage 2021; 235:118006. [PMID: 33819611 PMCID: PMC8214073 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A wide homology between human and macaque striatum is often assumed as in both the striatum is involved in cognition, emotion and executive functions. However, differences in functional and structural organization between human and macaque striatum may reveal evolutionary divergence and shed light on human vulnerability to neuropsychiatric diseases. For instance, dopaminergic dysfunction of the human striatum is considered to be a pathophysiological underpinning of different disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and schizophrenia (SCZ). Previous investigations have found a wide similarity in structural connectivity of the striatum between human and macaque, leaving the cross-species comparison of its functional organization unknown. In this study, resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) derived striatal parcels were compared based on their homologous cortico-striatal connectivity. The goal here was to identify striatal parcels whose connectivity is human-specific compared to macaque parcels. Functional parcellation revealed that the human striatum was split into dorsal, dorsomedial, and rostral caudate and ventral, central, and caudal putamen, while the macaque striatum was divided into dorsal, and rostral caudate and rostral, and caudal putamen. Cross-species comparison indicated dissimilar cortico-striatal RSFC of the topographically similar dorsal caudate. We probed clinical relevance of the striatal clusters by examining differences in their cortico-striatal RSFC and gray matter (GM) volume between patients (with PD and SCZ) and healthy controls. We found abnormal RSFC not only between dorsal caudate, but also between rostral caudate, ventral, central and caudal putamen and widespread cortical regions for both PD and SCZ patients. Also, we observed significant structural atrophy in rostral caudate, ventral and central putamen for both PD and SCZ while atrophy in the dorsal caudate was specific to PD. Taken together, our cross-species comparative results revealed shared and human-specific RSFC of different striatal clusters reinforcing the complex organization and function of the striatum. In addition, we provided a testable hypothesis that abnormalities in a region with human-specific connectivity, i.e., dorsal caudate, might be associated with neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaojin Liu
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Svenja Caspers
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Institute for Anatomy I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Jianxiao Wu
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Sarah Genon
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Felix Hoffstaedter
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Rogier B Mars
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Iris E Sommer
- Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells & Systems, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Claudia R Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ji Chen
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Renaud Jardri
- Division of Psychiatry, University of Lille, CNRS UMR9193, SCALab & CHU Lille, Fontan Hospital, CURE platform, Lille, France
| | - Kathrin Reetz
- JARA-BRAIN Institute Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, Forschungszentrum Jülich, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Imis Dogan
- JARA-BRAIN Institute Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, Forschungszentrum Jülich, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; Department of Neurology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - André Aleman
- Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
| | - Lydia Kogler
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Gruber
- Section for Experimental Psychopathology and Neuroimaging, Department of General Psychiatry, Heidelberg University, Germany
| | - Julian Caspers
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany; Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Christian Mathys
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, University of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Research Center Neurosensory Science, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany; Institute of Radiology and Neuroradiology, Evangelisches Krankenhaus, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Kaustubh R Patil
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7), Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany; Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
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Cheng L, Zhang Y, Li G, Wang J, Sherwood C, Gong G, Fan L, Jiang T. Connectional asymmetry of the inferior parietal lobule shapes hemispheric specialization in humans, chimpanzees, and rhesus macaques. eLife 2021; 10:e67600. [PMID: 34219649 PMCID: PMC8257252 DOI: 10.7554/elife.67600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The inferior parietal lobule (IPL) is one of the most expanded cortical regions in humans relative to other primates. It is also among the most structurally and functionally asymmetric regions in the human cerebral cortex. Whether the structural and connectional asymmetries of IPL subdivisions differ across primate species and how this relates to functional asymmetries remain unclear. We identified IPL subregions that exhibited positive allometric in both hemispheres, scaling across rhesus macaque monkeys, chimpanzees, and humans. The patterns of IPL subregions asymmetry were similar in chimpanzees and humans, but no IPL asymmetries were evident in macaques. Among the comparative sample of primates, humans showed the most widespread asymmetric connections in the frontal, parietal, and temporal cortices, constituting leftward asymmetric networks that may provide an anatomical basis for language and tool use. Unique human asymmetric connectivity between the IPL and primary motor cortex might be related to handedness. These findings suggest that structural and connectional asymmetries may underlie hemispheric specialization of the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luqi Cheng
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengduChina
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Yuanchao Zhang
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengduChina
| | - Gang Li
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Jiaojian Wang
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengduChina
- Center for Language and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of NeuroscienceShenzhenChina
| | - Chet Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington UniversityWashingtonUnited States
| | - Gaolang Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijingChina
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Lingzhong Fan
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Tianzi Jiang
- Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengduChina
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
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38
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Homman-Ludiye J, Mundinano IC, Kwan WC, Bourne JA. Extensive Connectivity Between the Medial Pulvinar and the Cortex Revealed in the Marmoset Monkey. Cereb Cortex 2021; 30:1797-1812. [PMID: 31711181 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Revised: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The medial pulvinar (PM) is a multimodal associative thalamic nucleus, recently evolved in primates. PM participates in integrative and modulatory functions, including directed attention, and consistently exhibits alterations in disorders such as schizophrenia and autism. Despite essential cognitive functions, the cortical inputs to the PM have not been systematically investigated. To date, less than 20 cortices have been demonstrated to project to PM. The goal of this study was to establish a comprehensive map of the cortical afferents to PM in the marmoset monkey. Using a magnetic resonance imaging-guided injection approach, we reveal 62 discrete cortices projecting to the adult marmoset PM. We confirmed previously reported connections and identified further projections from discrete cortices across the temporal, parietal, retrosplenial-cingulate, prefrontal, and orbital lobes. These regions encompass areas recipient of PM efferents, demonstrating the reciprocity of the PM-cortical connectivity. Moreover, our results indicate that PM neurones projecting to distinct cortices are intermingled and form multimodal cell clusters. This microunit organization, believed to facilitate cross-modal integration, contrasts with the large functional subdivisions usually observed in thalamic nuclei. Altogether, we provide the first comprehensive map of PM cortical afferents, an essential stepping stone in expanding our knowledge of PM and its function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jihane Homman-Ludiye
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Inaki Carril Mundinano
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - William C Kwan
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - James A Bourne
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
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39
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Legendre LJ, Clarke JA. Shifts in eggshell thickness are related to changes in locomotor ecology in dinosaurs. Evolution 2021; 75:1415-1430. [PMID: 33913155 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 03/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Birds share an array of unique characteristics among extant land vertebrates. Among these, external and microstructural characteristics of extant bird eggs have been linked to changes in reproductive strategy that arose among non-avian theropod dinosaurs. More recently, differences in egg proportions recovered in crown birds relative to other dinosaurs were suggested as possibly linked to avian flight, but dense sampling close to its proposed origin was lacking. Here we assess the evolution of eggshell thickness in a targeted sample of 114 dinosaurs including birds, and test the relationship of eggshell thickness with potential life history correlates and locomotor mode using phylogenetic comparative methods. Only egg mass and flight are identified as significant predictors of eggshell thickness. While a high correlation between egg mass and eggshell thickness is expected, that relationship is much stronger in flying taxa, which show a significantly higher slope and lower residual variance than flightless species. This suggests stabilizing selection of eggshell thickness among theropods, as recovered for other traits in extant birds (e.g. genome size, metabolic rate). Within living birds, Eufalconimorphae present an apomorphic increase in relative eggshell thickness which remains unexplained, as few morphological synapomorphies of this clade have been identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas J Legendre
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Julia A Clarke
- Department of Geological Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
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40
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Smaers JB, Rothman RS, Hudson DR, Balanoff AM, Beatty B, Dechmann DKN, de Vries D, Dunn JC, Fleagle JG, Gilbert CC, Goswami A, Iwaniuk AN, Jungers WL, Kerney M, Ksepka DT, Manger PR, Mongle CS, Rohlf FJ, Smith NA, Soligo C, Weisbecker V, Safi K. The evolution of mammalian brain size. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/18/eabe2101. [PMID: 33910907 PMCID: PMC8081360 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe2101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Relative brain size has long been considered a reflection of cognitive capacities and has played a fundamental role in developing core theories in the life sciences. Yet, the notion that relative brain size validly represents selection on brain size relies on the untested assumptions that brain-body allometry is restrained to a stable scaling relationship across species and that any deviation from this slope is due to selection on brain size. Using the largest fossil and extant dataset yet assembled, we find that shifts in allometric slope underpin major transitions in mammalian evolution and are often primarily characterized by marked changes in body size. Our results reveal that the largest-brained mammals achieved large relative brain sizes by highly divergent paths. These findings prompt a reevaluation of the traditional paradigm of relative brain size and open new opportunities to improve our understanding of the genetic and developmental mechanisms that influence brain size.
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Affiliation(s)
- J B Smaers
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA.
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - R S Rothman
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - D R Hudson
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - A M Balanoff
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - B Beatty
- NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA
- United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560, USA
| | - D K N Dechmann
- Department of Migration, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
| | - D de Vries
- Ecosystems and Environment Research Centre, School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Manchester M5 4WX, UK
| | - J C Dunn
- Division of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3QG, UK
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
- Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria
| | - J G Fleagle
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - C C Gilbert
- NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Hunter College, New York, NY 10065, USA
- PhD Program in Anthropology, Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - A Goswami
- Department of Life Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - A N Iwaniuk
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K-3M4, Canada
| | - W L Jungers
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
- Association Vahatra, BP 3972, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
| | - M Kerney
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK
| | - D T Ksepka
- Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT 06830, USA
- Department of Ornithology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Division of Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
| | - P R Manger
- School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - C S Mongle
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA
- Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
- Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - F J Rohlf
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA
| | - N A Smith
- Division of Science and Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL 60605, USA
- Campbell Geology Museum, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, USA
| | - C Soligo
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - V Weisbecker
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia
| | - K Safi
- Department of Migration, Max-Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78315 Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78464 Konstanz, Germany
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41
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Schörnig M, Ju X, Fast L, Ebert S, Weigert A, Kanton S, Schaffer T, Nadif Kasri N, Treutlein B, Peter BM, Hevers W, Taverna E. Comparison of induced neurons reveals slower structural and functional maturation in humans than in apes. eLife 2021; 10:59323. [PMID: 33470930 PMCID: PMC7870144 DOI: 10.7554/elife.59323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We generated induced excitatory neurons (iNeurons, iNs) from chimpanzee, bonobo, and human stem cells by expressing the transcription factor neurogenin-2 (NGN2). Single-cell RNA sequencing showed that genes involved in dendrite and synapse development are expressed earlier during iNs maturation in the chimpanzee and bonobo than the human cells. In accordance, during the first 2 weeks of differentiation, chimpanzee and bonobo iNs showed repetitive action potentials and more spontaneous excitatory activity than human iNs, and extended neurites of higher total length. However, the axons of human iNs were slightly longer at 5 weeks of differentiation. The timing of the establishment of neuronal polarity did not differ between the species. Chimpanzee, bonobo, and human neurites eventually reached the same level of structural complexity. Thus, human iNs develop slower than chimpanzee and bonobo iNs, and this difference in timing likely depends on functions downstream of NGN2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Schörnig
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Xiangchun Ju
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Luise Fast
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ebert
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Anne Weigert
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sabina Kanton
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Theresa Schaffer
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nael Nadif Kasri
- Department of Human Genetics and Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behavior, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Barbara Treutlein
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Wulf Hevers
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elena Taverna
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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42
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Garcia C, Bouret S, Druelle F, Prat S. Balancing costs and benefits in primates: ecological and palaeoanthropological views. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20190667. [PMID: 33423629 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Maintaining the balance between costs and benefits is challenging for species living in complex and dynamic socio-ecological environments, such as primates, but also crucial for shaping life history, reproductive and feeding strategies. Indeed, individuals must decide to invest time and energy to obtain food, services and partners, with little direct feedback on the success of their investments. Whereas decision-making relies heavily upon cognition in humans, the extent to which it also involves cognition in other species, based on their environmental constraints, has remained a challenging question. Building mental representations relating behaviours and their long-term outcome could be critical for other primates, but there are actually very little data relating cognition to real socio-ecological challenges in extant and extinct primates. Here, we review available data illustrating how specific cognitive processes enable(d) modern primates and extinct hominins to manage multiple resources (e.g. food, partners) and to organize their behaviour in space and time, both at the individual and at the group level. We particularly focus on how they overcome fluctuating and competing demands, and select courses of action corresponding to the best possible packages of potential costs and benefits in reproductive and foraging contexts. This article is part of the theme issue 'Existence and prevalence of economic behaviours among non-human primates'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Garcia
- UMR 7206, CNRS-Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle-Université de Paris, CNRS-Musfum national d'Histoire naturelle-UPVD, Musée de l'Homme, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
| | - Sébastien Bouret
- Institut du Cerveau (ICM), CNRS UMR 7225-INSERM U1127-UPMC UMR S 1127, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière 47, boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France
| | - François Druelle
- UMR 7194 (Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique), CNRS-Musfum national d'Histoire naturelle-UPVD, Musée de l'Homme, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France.,Functional Morphology Laboratory, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Sandrine Prat
- UMR 7194 (Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique), CNRS-Musfum national d'Histoire naturelle-UPVD, Musée de l'Homme, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
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43
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Sidhaye J, Knoblich JA. Brain organoids: an ensemble of bioassays to investigate human neurodevelopment and disease. Cell Death Differ 2021; 28:52-67. [PMID: 32483384 PMCID: PMC7853143 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-020-0566-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding etiology of human neurological and psychiatric diseases is challenging. Genomic changes, protracted development, and histological features unique to human brain development limit the disease aspects that can be investigated using model organisms. Hence, in order to study phenotypes associated with human brain development, function, and disease, it is necessary to use alternative experimental systems that are accessible, ethically justified, and replicate human context. Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived brain organoids offer such a system, which recapitulates features of early human neurodevelopment in vitro, including the generation, proliferation, and differentiation of neural progenitors into neurons and glial cells and the complex interactions among the diverse, emergent cell types of the developing brain in three-dimensions (3-D). In recent years, numerous brain organoid protocols and related techniques have been developed to recapitulate aspects of embryonic and fetal brain development in a reproducible and predictable manner. Altogether, these different organoid technologies provide distinct bioassays to unravel novel, disease-associated phenotypes and mechanisms. In this review, we summarize how the diverse brain organoid methods can be utilized to enhance our understanding of brain disorders. FACTS: Brain organoids offer an in vitro approach to study aspects of human brain development and disease. Diverse brain organoid techniques offer bioassays to investigate new phenotypes associated with human brain disorders that are difficult to study in monolayer cultures. Brain organoids have been particularly useful to study phenomena and diseases associated with neural progenitor morphology, survival, proliferation, and differentiation. OPEN QUESTION: Future brain organoid research needs to aim at later stages of neurodevelopment, linked with neuronal activity and connections, to unravel further disease-associated phenotypes. Continued improvement of existing organoid protocols is required to generate standardized methods that recapitulate in vivo-like spatial diversity and complexity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaydeep Sidhaye
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of Austrian academy of sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jürgen A Knoblich
- Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of Austrian academy of sciences (IMBA), Vienna BioCenter (VBC), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 3, 1030, Vienna, Austria.
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44
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Kastner S, Fiebelkorn IC, Eradath MK. Dynamic pulvino-cortical interactions in the primate attention network. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 65:10-19. [PMID: 32942125 PMCID: PMC7770054 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
While research in previous decades demonstrated a link between the pulvinar nucleus of the thalamus and visual selective attention, the pulvinar's specific functional role has remained elusive. However, methodological advances in electrophysiological recordings in non-human primates, including simultaneous recordings in multiple brain regions, have recently begun to reveal the pulvinar's functional contributions to selective attention. These new findings suggest that the pulvinar is critical for the efficient transmission of sensory information within and between cortical regions, both synchronizing cortical activity across brain regions and controlling cortical excitability. These new findings further suggest that the pulvinar's influence on cortical processing is embedded in a dynamic selection process that balances sensory and motor functions within the large-scale network that directs selective attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Kastner
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, United States.
| | - Ian C Fiebelkorn
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, United States
| | - Manoj K Eradath
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University, United States
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45
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Sauciuc GA, Persson T. Chimpanzees Predict the Hedonic Outcome of Novel Taste Combinations: The Evolutionary Origins of Affective Forecasting. Front Psychol 2020; 11:549193. [PMID: 33192796 PMCID: PMC7646213 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.549193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Affective forecasting–predicting the emotional outcome of never-before experienced situations–is pervasive in our lives. When facing novel situations, we can quickly integrate bits and pieces of prior experiences to envisage possible scenarios and their outcomes, and what these might feel like. Such affective glimpses of the future often steer the decisions we make. By enabling principled decision-making in novel situations, affective forecasting confers the important adaptive advantage of eluding the potentially costly consequences of tackling such situations by trial-and-error. Affective forecasting has been hypothesized as uniquely human, yet, in a recent study we found suggestive evidence of this ability in an orangutan. To test non-verbal subjects, we capitalized on culinary examples of affective forecasting and devised a behavioral test that required the subjects to make predictions about novel juice mixes produced from familiar ingredients. In the present study, we administered the same task to two chimpanzees and found that their performance was comparable to that of the previously tested orangutan and 10 humans, who served as a comparison group. To improve the comparability of human and animal performance, in the present study we also introduced a new approach to assessing if the subjects’ performance was indicative of affective forecasting, which relies exclusively on behavioral data. The results of the study open for the possibility that affective forecasting has evolved in the common ancestor of the great apes, providing Hominids with the adaptive advantage of e.g., quickly evaluating heterogeneous food patches using hedonic prediction.
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46
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Sneve MH, Grydeland H, Rosa MGP, Paus T, Chaplin T, Walhovd K, Fjell AM. High-Expanding Regions in Primate Cortical Brain Evolution Support Supramodal Cognitive Flexibility. Cereb Cortex 2020; 29:3891-3901. [PMID: 30357354 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2018] [Revised: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Primate cortical evolution has been characterized by massive and disproportionate expansion of a set of specific regions in the neocortex. The associated increase in neocortical neurons comes with a high metabolic cost, thus the functions served by these regions must have conferred significant evolutionary advantage. In the present series of analyses, we show that evolutionary high-expanding cortex - as estimated from patterns of surface growth from several primate species - shares functional connections with different brain networks in a context-dependent manner. Specifically, we demonstrate that high-expanding cortex is characterized by high internetwork functional connectivity; is recruited flexibly over many different cognitive tasks; and changes its functional coupling pattern between rest and a multimodal task-state. The capacity of high-expanding cortex to connect flexibly with various specialized brain networks depending on particular cognitive requirements suggests that its selective growth and sustainment in evolution may have been linked to an involvement in supramodal cognition. In accordance with an evolutionary-developmental view, we find that this observed ability of high-expanding regions - to flexibly modulate functional connections as a function of cognitive state - emerges gradually through childhood, with a prolonged developmental trajectory plateauing in young adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus H Sneve
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Håkon Grydeland
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Marcello G P Rosa
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.,Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.,Australian Research Council, Centre for Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Tomáš Paus
- Rotman Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Center for Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Tristan Chaplin
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.,Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia.,Australian Research Council, Centre for Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Kristine Walhovd
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Anders M Fjell
- Center for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
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47
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Sansalone G, Allen K, Ledogar JA, Ledogar S, Mitchell DR, Profico A, Castiglione S, Melchionna M, Serio C, Mondanaro A, Raia P, Wroe S. Variation in the strength of allometry drives rates of evolution in primate brain shape. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200807. [PMID: 32635870 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Large brains are a defining feature of primates, as is a clear allometric trend between body mass and brain size. However, important questions on the macroevolution of brain shape in primates remain unanswered. Here we address two: (i), does the relationship between the brain size and its shape follow allometric trends and (ii), is this relationship consistent over evolutionary time? We employ three-dimensional geometric morphometrics and phylogenetic comparative methods to answer these questions, based on a large sample representing 151 species and most primate families. We found two distinct trends regarding the relationship between brain shape and brain size. Hominoidea and Cercopithecinae showed significant evolutionary allometry, whereas no allometric trends were discernible for Strepsirrhini, Colobinae or Platyrrhini. Furthermore, we found that in the taxa characterized by significant allometry, brain shape evolution accelerated, whereas for taxa in which such allometry was absent, the evolution of brain shape decelerated. We conclude that although primates in general are typically described as large-brained, strong allometric effects on brain shape are largely confined to the order's representatives that display more complex behavioural repertoires.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Sansalone
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, NSW 2351, Armidale, Australia
| | - K Allen
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, MO, USA.,Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St Louis, Washington, MO, USA
| | - J A Ledogar
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - S Ledogar
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, NSW 2351, Armidale, Australia.,Department of Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology, School of Humanities, University of New England, NSW 2351, Armidale, Australia
| | - D R Mitchell
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, NSW 2351, Armidale, Australia.,Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Old Main 330, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - A Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy
| | - S Castiglione
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - M Melchionna
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - C Serio
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy.,Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - A Mondanaro
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy.,Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Italy
| | - P Raia
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - S Wroe
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, NSW 2351, Armidale, Australia
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Roumazeilles L, Eichert N, Bryant KL, Folloni D, Sallet J, Vijayakumar S, Foxley S, Tendler BC, Jbabdi S, Reveley C, Verhagen L, Dershowitz LB, Guthrie M, Flach E, Miller KL, Mars RB. Longitudinal connections and the organization of the temporal cortex in macaques, great apes, and humans. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000810. [PMID: 32735557 PMCID: PMC7423156 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The temporal association cortex is considered a primate specialization and is involved in complex behaviors, with some, such as language, particularly characteristic of humans. The emergence of these behaviors has been linked to major differences in temporal lobe white matter in humans compared with monkeys. It is unknown, however, how the organization of the temporal lobe differs across several anthropoid primates. Therefore, we systematically compared the organization of the major temporal lobe white matter tracts in the human, gorilla, and chimpanzee great apes and in the macaque monkey. We show that humans and great apes, in particular the chimpanzee, exhibit an expanded and more complex occipital-temporal white matter system; additionally, in humans, the invasion of dorsal tracts into the temporal lobe provides a further specialization. We demonstrate the reorganization of different tracts along the primate evolutionary tree, including distinctive connectivity of human temporal gray matter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Roumazeilles
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nicole Eichert
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Katherine L. Bryant
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Davide Folloni
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Jerome Sallet
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Suhas Vijayakumar
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Sean Foxley
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Benjamin C. Tendler
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Saad Jbabdi
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Colin Reveley
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Lennart Verhagen
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Lori B. Dershowitz
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Martin Guthrie
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Edmund Flach
- Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Karla L. Miller
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Rogier B. Mars
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
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49
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Shilton D, Breski M, Dor D, Jablonka E. Human Social Evolution: Self-Domestication or Self-Control? Front Psychol 2020; 11:134. [PMID: 32116937 PMCID: PMC7033472 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
The self-domestication hypothesis suggests that, like mammalian domesticates, humans have gone through a process of selection against aggression - a process that in the case of humans was self-induced. Here, we extend previous proposals and suggest that what underlies human social evolution is selection for socially mediated emotional control and plasticity. In the first part of the paper we highlight general features of human social evolution, which, we argue, is more similar to that of other social mammals than to that of mammalian domesticates and is therefore incompatible with the notion of human self-domestication. In the second part, we discuss the unique aspects of human evolution and propose that emotional control and social motivation in humans evolved during two major, partially overlapping stages. The first stage, which followed the emergence of mimetic communication, the beginnings of musical engagement, and mimesis-related cognition, required socially mediated emotional plasticity and was accompanied by new social emotions. The second stage followed the emergence of language, when individuals began to instruct the imagination of their interlocutors, and to rely even more extensively on emotional plasticity and culturally learned emotional control. This account further illustrates the significant differences between humans and domesticates, thus challenging the notion of human self-domestication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dor Shilton
- The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Mati Breski
- The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Daniel Dor
- The Department of Communication, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Eva Jablonka
- The Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas, Tel Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
- Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science (CPNSS), London School of Economics, London, United Kingdom
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50
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Differences in Frontal Network Anatomy Across Primate Species. J Neurosci 2020; 40:2094-2107. [PMID: 31949106 PMCID: PMC7055147 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1650-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Revised: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/15/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The frontal lobe is central to distinctive aspects of human cognition and behavior. Some comparative studies link this to a larger frontal cortex and even larger frontal white matter in humans compared with other primates, yet others dispute these findings. The discrepancies between studies could be explained by limitations of the methods used to quantify volume differences across species, especially when applied to white matter connections. In this study, we used a novel tractography approach to demonstrate that frontal lobe networks, extending within and beyond the frontal lobes, occupy 66% of total brain white matter in humans and 48% in three monkey species: vervets (Chlorocebus aethiops), rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) and cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis), all male. The simian-human differences in proportional frontal tract volume were significant for projection, commissural, and both intralobar and interlobar association tracts. Among the long association tracts, the greatest difference was found for tracts involved in motor planning, auditory memory, top-down control of sensory information, and visuospatial attention, with no significant differences in frontal limbic tracts important for emotional processing and social behaviour. In addition, we found that a nonfrontal tract, the anterior commissure, had a smaller volume fraction in humans, suggesting that the disproportionally large volume of human frontal lobe connections is accompanied by a reduction in the proportion of some nonfrontal connections. These findings support a hypothesis of an overall rearrangement of brain connections during human evolution.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Tractography is a unique tool to map white matter connections in the brains of different species, including humans. This study shows that humans have a greater proportion of frontal lobe connections compared with monkeys, when normalized by total brain white matter volume. In particular, tracts associated with language and higher cognitive functions are disproportionally larger in humans compared with monkeys, whereas other tracts associated with emotional processing are either the same or disproportionally smaller. This supports the hypothesis that the emergence of higher cognitive functions in humans is associated with increased extended frontal connectivity, allowing human brains more efficient cross talk between frontal and other high-order associative areas of the temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes.
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