Human brain evolution: food for thoughts

2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 683-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim HM Saris ◽  
Steven B Heymsfield ◽  
William J Evans
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Evolution ◽  
Human Brain Evolution

scholarly journals Proportional versus relative size as metrics in human brain evolution

2018 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Barton ◽  
Stephen H. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Brain Evolution ◽  
Human Brain Evolution

scholarly journals Evolutionary modifications in human brain connectivity associated with schizophrenia

Brain ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (12) ◽  
pp. 3991-4002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn P van den Heuvel ◽  
Lianne H Scholtens ◽  
Siemon C de Lange ◽  
Rory Pijnenburg ◽  
Wiepke Cahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Brain Evolution ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Human Brain Evolution ◽  
The Brain

See Vértes and Seidlitz (doi:10.1093/brain/awz353) for a scientific commentary on this article. Is schizophrenia a by-product of human brain evolution? By comparing the human and chimpanzee connectomes, van den Heuvel et al. demonstrate that connections unique to the human brain show greater involvement in schizophrenia pathology. Modifications in service of higher-order brain functions may have rendered the brain more vulnerable to dysfunction.

scholarly journals Molecular Insights into Human Brain Evolution

PLoS Biology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. e50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Bradbury
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Brain Evolution ◽  
Human Brain Evolution

scholarly journals Emerging Roles of Long Non-Coding RNAs as Drivers of Brain Evolution

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geraldine Zimmer-Bensch
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Brain Evolution ◽  
Relative Volume ◽  
Structural Reorganization ◽  
Protein Coding ◽  
Human Brain Evolution ◽  
Transcriptional Regulatory

Mammalian genomes encode tens of thousands of long-noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are capable of interactions with DNA, RNA and protein molecules, thereby enabling a variety of transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulatory activities. Strikingly, about 40% of lncRNAs are expressed specifically in the brain with precisely regulated temporal and spatial expression patterns. In stark contrast to the highly conserved repertoire of protein-coding genes, thousands of lncRNAs have newly appeared during primate nervous system evolution with hundreds of human-specific lncRNAs. Their evolvable nature and the myriad of potential functions make lncRNAs ideal candidates for drivers of human brain evolution. The human brain displays the largest relative volume of any animal species and the most remarkable cognitive abilities. In addition to brain size, structural reorganization and adaptive changes represent crucial hallmarks of human brain evolution. lncRNAs are increasingly reported to be involved in neurodevelopmental processes suggested to underlie human brain evolution, including proliferation, neurite outgrowth and synaptogenesis, as well as in neuroplasticity. Hence, evolutionary human brain adaptations are proposed to be essentially driven by lncRNAs, which will be discussed in this review.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document