Co‐evolution of cerebral and cerebellar expansion in cetaceans

Muller, Amandine Sophie; Montgomery, Stephen H.

doi:10.1111/jeb.13539

Cited by 10 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 105 publications

(239 reference statements)

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“…In particular, the CCS [81,82] may have undergone specific modular adaptations supporting non-motor operation in primates [61,73], as well as in cetaceans [83] and parrots [84]. Now, with elaborate phylogenetic techniques and additional neuroscientific tools, investigation of the non-motor CCS can be further substantiated.…”

Section: Neocortical Scaling Underlines the Need For Connectivity-rel...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparative Perspective on the Cerebello-Cerebral System and Its Link to Cognition

et al. 2022

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The longstanding idea that the cerebral cortex is the main neural correlate of human cognition can be elaborated by comparative analyses along the vertebrate phylogenetic tree that support the view that the cerebello-cerebral system is suited to support non-motor functions more generally. In humans, diverse accounts have illustrated cerebellar involvement in cognitive functions. Although the neocortex, and its transmodal association cortices such as the prefrontal cortex, have become disproportionately large over primate evolution specifically, human neocortical volume does not appear to be exceptional relative to the variability within primates. Rather, several lines of evidence indicate that the exceptional volumetric increase of the lateral cerebellum in conjunction with its connectivity with the cerebral cortical system may be linked to non-motor functions and mental operation in primates. This idea is supported by diverging cerebello-cerebral adaptations that potentially coevolve with cognitive abilities across other vertebrates such as dolphins, parrots, and elephants. Modular adaptations upon the vertebrate cerebello-cerebral system may thus help better understand the neuroevolutionary trajectory of the primate brain and its relation to cognition in humans. Lateral cerebellar lobules crura I-II and their reciprocal connections to the cerebral cortical association areas appear to have substantially expanded in great apes, and humans. This, along with the notable increase in the ventral portions of the dentate nucleus and a shift to increased relative prefrontal-cerebellar connectivity, suggests that modular cerebellar adaptations support cognitive functions in humans. In sum, we show how comparative neuroscience provides new avenues to broaden our understanding of cerebellar and cerebello-cerebral functions in the context of cognition.

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Section: Neocortical Scaling Underlines the Need For Connectivity-rel...mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparative Perspective on the Cerebello-Cerebral System and Its Link to Cognition

et al. 2022

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“…Indeed, whether they co-vary negatively, positively, or not at all, can be explained by how diet and activity pattern interact to shape foraging behaviour (41). In addition, major brain structures connected by long-range axons, such as the neocortex and cerebellum also tend to co-evolve independently of total brain size, while also showing evidence of temporally transient independent change (44)(45)(46)(47). These examples illustrate the effects of functional integration on co-evolution among brain components.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

An agent-based model clarifies the importance of functional and developmental integration in shaping brain evolution

Avin

Currie

Montgomery

2020

Preprint

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AbstractComparisons of vertebrate brain structure suggest a conserved pattern of scaling between components, but also many examples of lineages diverging dramatically from these general trends. Two competing hypotheses of brain evolution seek to explain these patterns of variation by invoking either ‘external’ processes, such as selection driving phenotypic change, or ‘internal’ processes, like developmental coupling among brain regions. Efforts to reconcile these views remain deadlocked, in part due to empirical under-determination and the limitations of ‘relative significance’ debates. We introduce an agent-based model that allows us to simulate brain evolution in a ‘bare-bones’ system and examine the dependencies between variables that may shape brain evolution. Our simulations formalise verbal arguments and interpretations concerning the evolution of brain structure. We illustrate that ‘concerted’ patterns of brain evolution cannot alone be taken as evidence for developmental coupling, or constraint, despite these terms often being treated as synonymous in the literature. Both developmentally coupled and uncoupled brain architectures can represent adaptive mechanisms, depending on the distribution of selection across the brain, life history, and the relative costs of neural tissue. Our model also illustrates how the prevalence of mosaic and concerted patterns of evolution may fluctuate through time in a variable environment, which we argue implies that developmental coupling is unlikely to be a significant evolutionary constraint.

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“…Indeed, whether they co-vary negatively, positively or not at all can be explained by how diet and activity pattern interact to shape foraging behaviour [ 54 ]. In addition, major brain structures connected by long-range axons, such as the neocortex and cerebellum, also tend to co-evolve independently of total brain size, while also showing evidence of temporally transient independent change [ 57 – 60 ]. These examples illustrate the effects of functional integration on co-evolution among brain components which are consistent with our model outputs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An agent-based model clarifies the importance of functional and developmental integration in shaping brain evolution

2021

Self Cite

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Background Vertebrate brain structure is characterised not only by relative consistency in scaling between components, but also by many examples of divergence from these general trends.. Alternative hypotheses explain these patterns by emphasising either ‘external’ processes, such as coordinated or divergent selection, or ‘internal’ processes, like developmental coupling among brain regions. Although these hypotheses are not mutually exclusive, there is little agreement over their relative importance across time or how that importance may vary across evolutionary contexts. Results We introduce an agent-based model to simulate brain evolution in a ‘bare-bones’ system and examine dependencies between variables shaping brain evolution. We show that ‘concerted’ patterns of brain evolution do not, in themselves, provide evidence for developmental coupling, despite these terms often being treated as synonymous in the literature. Instead, concerted evolution can reflect either functional or developmental integration. Our model further allows us to clarify conditions under which such developmental coupling, or uncoupling, is potentially adaptive, revealing support for the maintenance of both mechanisms in neural evolution. Critically, we illustrate how the probability of deviation from concerted evolution depends on the cost/benefit ratio of neural tissue, which increases when overall brain size is itself under constraint. Conclusions We conclude that both developmentally coupled and uncoupled brain architectures can provide adaptive mechanisms, depending on the distribution of selection across brain structures, life history and costs of neural tissue. However, when constraints also act on overall brain size, heterogeneity in selection across brain structures will favour region specific, or mosaic, evolution. Regardless, the respective advantages of developmentally coupled and uncoupled brain architectures mean that both may persist in fluctuating environments. This implies that developmental coupling is unlikely to be a persistent constraint, but could evolve as an adaptive outcome to selection to maintain functional integration.

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Co‐evolution of cerebral and cerebellar expansion in cetaceans

Cited by 10 publications

References 105 publications

A Comparative Perspective on the Cerebello-Cerebral System and Its Link to Cognition

A Comparative Perspective on the Cerebello-Cerebral System and Its Link to Cognition

An agent-based model clarifies the importance of functional and developmental integration in shaping brain evolution

An agent-based model clarifies the importance of functional and developmental integration in shaping brain evolution

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