Evolutionary expansion of the corticospinal system is linked to dexterity in <i>Peromyscus</i> mice.

ABSTRACT: Animals have evolved behavioral variation to adapt to distinct environmental features. The expansion of neuron number is a potential neural mechanism underlying this behavioral adaptation. Corticospinal neurons (CSNs) are a classic example: an expansion in the corticospinal system in the primate lineage has been hypothesized to underlie their exceptional dexterity. However, the role of CSN number in behavior has been difficult to assess due to the large evolutionary distance between primates and less dexterous taxa with fewer CSNs. Here, we use deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) to overcome this challenge. We compared two closely related subspecies of deer mice: forest mice, which evolved dexterous climbing to support a semi-arboreal lifestyle, and prairie mice, which are less dexte

SUBMITTER: Tyssowski KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12632750 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature