Relaxed genetic control of cortical organization in human brains compared with chimpanzees.

ABSTRACT: The study of hominin brain evolution has focused largely on the neocortical expansion and reorganization undergone by humans as inferred from the endocranial fossil record. Comparisons of modern human brains with those of chimpanzees provide an additional line of evidence to define key neural traits that have emerged in human evolution and that underlie our unique behavioral specializations. In an attempt to identify fundamental developmental differences, we have estimated the genetic bases of brain size and cortical organization in chimpanzees and humans by studying phenotypic similarities between individuals with known kinship relationships. We show that, although heritability for brain size and cortical organization is high in chimpanzees, cerebral cortical anatomy is substantially less

SUBMITTER: Gomez-Robles A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4672807 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature