The evolution of human altriciality and brain development in comparative context.

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 a

SUBMITTER: Gomez-Robles A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10781642 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature