In humans, the wakeful resting condition is characterized by a default mode of brain function involving high levels of activity within a functionally connected network of brain regions. This network has recently been implicated in mental self-projection into the past, the future, or another individual's perspective. Here we use [ 18 F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography imaging to assess resting-state brain activity in our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, as a potential window onto their mental world and compare these results with those of a human sample. We find that, like humans, chimpanzees show high levels of activity within default mode areas, including medial prefrontal and medial parietal cortex. Chimpanzees differ from our human sample in showing higher levels of activity in ventromedial prefrontal cortex and lower levels of activity in left-sided cortical areas involved in language and conceptual processing in humans. Our results raise the possibility that the resting state of chimpanzees involves emotionally laden episodic memory retrieval and some level of mental self-projection, albeit in the absence of language and conceptual processing.comparative cognition ͉ neuroimaging ͉ default mode

Increased connectivity of higher-order association regions in the neocortex has been proposed as a defining feature of human brain evolution. At present, however, there are limited comparative data to examine this claim fully. We tested the hypothesis that the distribution of neuropil across areas of the neocortex of humans differs from that of one of our closest living relatives, the common chimpanzee. The neuropil provides a proxy measure of total connectivity within a local region because it is comprised mostly of dendrites, axons, and synapses. Using image analysis techniques, we quantified the neuropil fraction from both hemispheres in six cytoarchitectonically defined regions including frontopolar cortex (area 10), Broca’s area (area 45), frontoinsular cortex (area FI), primary motor cortex (area 4), primary auditory cortex (area 41/42), and the planum temporale (area 22). Our results demonstrate that humans exhibit a unique distribution of neuropil in the neocortex compared to chimpanzees. In particular, the human frontopolar cortex and the frontoinsular cortex had a significantly higher neuropil fraction than the other areas. In chimpanzees these prefrontal regions did not display significantly more neuropil, but the primary auditory cortex had a lower neuropil fraction than other areas. Our results support the conclusion that enhanced connectivity in the prefrontal cortex accompanied the evolution of the human brain. These species differences in neuropil distribution may offer insight into the neural basis of human cognition, reflecting enhancement of the integrative capacity of the prefrontal cortex.

Glucose metabolism produces, by oxidative phosphorylation, more than 15 times the amount of energy generated by aerobic glycolysis. Nonetheless, aerobic glycolysis remains a prevalent metabolic pathway in the brain. Here we review evidence suggesting that this pathway contributes essential molecules to the biomass of the brain. Aerobic metabolism is the dominant metabolic pathway during early postnatal development when lipids and proteins are needed for the processes of axonal elongation, synaptogenesis, and myelination. Furthermore, aerobic metabolism may continue into adulthood to supply biomolecules for activity-related changes at the synapse and turnover of constituent structural components of neurons. Conversely, oxidative phosphorylation appears to be the main metabolic support for synaptic transmission, and, therefore, this pathway seems to be more dominant in brain structures and at time points in the lifespan that are characterized by increased synaptic density. We present the case for differing relationships between aerobic glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation across primates in association with species-specific variation in neurodevelopmental trajectories. In doing so, we provide an alternative interpretation for the assessment of radiolabeled glucose positron emission tomography studies that regularly attribute increases in glucose uptake to neural activity alone, and propose a new model for the contribution of metabolic pathways for energetic demand and neural tissue growth. We conclude that comparative studies of metabolic appropriation in the brain may contribute to the discussion of human cognitive evolution and to the understanding of human-specific aging and the etiology of neuropsychiatric diseases.

Summary Among humans, face recognition involves highly specialized cognitive and neural processes that enable the recognition of specific individuals [1–5]. While comparative studies suggest similar cognitive processes underlie face recognition in chimpanzees and humans [6–8, SOM#1], it remains unknown whether chimpanzees also show face-selective activity in ventral temporal cortex. This study is the first to examine regional cerebral glucose metabolism using 18F-Flurodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography in chimpanzees after they performed computerized tasks matching conspecifics’ faces and nonface objects (SOM#2). A whole brain analysis comparing these two tasks directly in five chimpanzees revealed significant face-selective activity in brain regions known to comprise the distributed cortical face processing network in humans, including superior temporal sulcus and orbitofrontal cortex [9–11]. In order to identify regions that were exclusively active during one task, but not the other, a resting-state condition was subtracted from each task and the activity exclusive to each task was identified. This revealed numerous distinct patches of face-selective activity in the fusiform gyrus that were interspersed within a large expanse of object-selective cortex. This pattern suggests similar object form topography in the ventral temporal cortex of chimpanzees and humans, in which faces may represent a special class of visual stimulus.

Understanding the life history correlates of ontogenetic differences in hominoid brain growth requires information from multiple species. At present, however, data on how brain size changes over the course of development are only available from chimpanzees and modern humans. In this study, we examined brain growth in wild Virunga mountain gorillas using data derived from necropsy reports (N = 34) and endocranial volume (EV) measurements (N = 86). The youngest individual in our sample was a 10-day-old neonatal male with a brain mass of 208 g, representing 42% of the adult male average. Our results demonstrate that Virunga mountain gorillas reach maximum adult-like brain mass by 3-4 years of age; adult-sized EV is reached by the time the first permanent molars emerge. This is in contrast to the pattern observed in chimpanzees, which despite their smaller absolute brain size, reportedly attain adult brain mass approximately 1 year later than Virunga mountain gorillas. Our findings demonstrate that brain growth is completed early in Virunga mountain gorillas compared to other great apes studied thus far, in a manner that appears to be linked with other life history characteristics of this population.