Cortical surface area and cortical thickness in the precuneus of adult humans

Bruner, Emiliano; Román, Francisco J.; Cuétara, José Manuel de la; Martı́n-Loeches, Manuel; Colom, Roberto

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2014.11.063

Cited by 34 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In humans, the longitudinal extent of the precuneus represents a major source of individual variation in brain anatomy [Bruner et al, 2014a, 2015]. The precuneus is also proportionally much larger in humans than in chimpanzees, not only in terms of absolute size but also in its proportions relative to other cortical regions [Bruner et al, 2016], and the corresponding dorsal parietal areas are expanded in modern human endocasts when compared with those of extinct human species [Bruner et al, 2014b].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When dealing with midsagittal brain geometry, the longitudinal proportions of the precuneus represent the main factor of variation among adult humans [Bruner et al, 2014a], by virtue of differences in cortical surface area [Bruner et al, 2015]. In adult humans, having a larger precuneus is partially associated with additional sulci, and with an expansion of its anterior-dorsal region [Bruner et al, 2017], corresponding in location to parietal area 7a [Scheperjans et al, 2008].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The histological and functional bases of this variation are not known, and changes in precuneus proportions are apparently not correlated with broad standard psychometric scores [Bruner et al, 2015]. Recent comparisons of humans and nonhuman primates using task-based and resting-state functional neuroimaging, as well as functional-connectivity MRI, indicate that these species share many features of precuneus organization [Rilling et al, 2007; Vincent et al, 2007; Kojima et al, 2009; Margulies et al, 2009; Barks et al, 2015; Caminiti et al, 2015].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Midsagittal Brain Variation among Non-Human Primates: Insights into Evolutionary Expansion of the Human Precuneus

Pereira‐Pedro

Rilling²,

Chen

et al. 2017

Brain Behav Evol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The precuneus is a major element of the superior parietal lobule, positioned on the medial side of the hemisphere and reaching the dorsal surface of the brain. It is a crucial functional region for visuospatial integration, visual imagery, and body coordination. Previously, we argued that the precuneus expanded in recent human evolution, based on a combination of paleontological, comparative, and intraspecific evidence from fossil and modern human endocasts as well as from human and chimpanzee brains. The longitudinal proportions of this region are a major source of anatomical variation among adult humans and, being much larger in Homo sapiens, is the main characteristic differentiating human midsagittal brain morphology from that of our closest living primate relative, the chimpanzee. In the current shape analysis, we examine precuneus variation in non-human primates through landmark-based models, to evaluate the general pattern of variability in non-human primates, and to test whether precuneus proportions are influenced by allometric effects of brain size. Results show that precuneus proportions do not covary with brain size, and that the main difference between monkeys and apes involves a vertical expansion of the frontal and occipital regions in apes. Such differences might reflect differences in brain proportions or differences in cranial architecture. In this sample, precuneus variation is apparently not influenced by phylogenetic or allometric factors, but does vary consistently within species, at least in chimpanzees and macaques. This result further supports the hypothesis that precuneus expansion in modern humans is not merely a consequence of increasing brain size or of allometric scaling, but rather represents a species-specific morphological change in our lineage.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Midsagittal Brain Variation among Non-Human Primates: Insights into Evolutionary Expansion of the Human Precuneus

Pereira‐Pedro

Rilling²,

Chen

et al. 2017

Brain Behav Evol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Namely, adult individuals show a noticeable anatomical diversity because of the length of the precuneus. Differences mainly deal with the dorsal regions, and enlargement of the precuneus is associated with increase in its cortical surface area [Bruner et al, 2015b]. Parietal lobes generally present larger size, more connections, and larger surface area in males than females, a difference associated with distinct visuospatial performance [Koscik et al, 2009].…”

Section: The Living Evidence: Parietal Lobe Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although differences in the pa-Brain Behav Evol 2018;91:136-147 DOI: 10.1159/000488889 rietal cortex are associated with visuospatial performance [Koscik et al, 2009], at present, there is no evidence correlating the overall precuneus morphology with traditional psychometric scores [Bruner et al, 2015b]. In this sense, and taking into account the cortical diversity of the precuneus, future neurofunctional analyses should consider more specific cortical areas and probably more targeted behavioral tasks.…”

Section: Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Paleoneurology and the Evolution of the Parietal Cortex

Bruner¹

2018

Brain Behav Evol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Paleoneurology deals with the study of brain anatomy in fossil species, as inferred from the morphology of their endocranial features. When compared with other living and extinct hominids, Homo sapiens is characterized by larger parietal bones and, according to the paleoneurological evidence, also by larger parietal lobes. The dorsal elements of the posterior parietal cortex (superior parietal lobules, precuneus, and intraparietal sulcus) may be involved in these morphological changes. This parietal expansion was also associated with an increase in the corresponding vascular networks, and possibly with increased heat loads. Only H. sapiens has a specific early ontogenetic stage in which brain form achieves such globular appearance. In adult modern humans, the precuneus displays remarkable variation, being largely responsible for the longitudinal parietal size. The precuneus is also much more expanded in modern humans than in chimpanzees. Parietal expansion is not influenced by brain size in fossil hominids or living primates. Therefore, our larger parietal cortex must be interpreted as a derived feature. Spatial models suggest that the dorsal and anterior areas of the precuneus might be involved in these derived morphological variations. These areas are crucial for visuospatial integration, and are sensitive to both genetic and environmental influences. This article reviews almost 20 years of my collaborations on human parietal lobe evolution, integrating functional craniology, paleoneurology, and evolutionary neuroanatomy.

show abstract

Morphological invariant of the midsagittal deep brain anatomy between humans and African great apes

Amano

Kochiyama

Tanabe

et al. 2021

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives: Efforts have been made to mathematically reconstruct the brain morphology from human fossil crania to clarify the evolutionary changes in the brain that are associated with the emergence of human cognitive ability. However, because conventional reconstruction methods are based solely on the endocranial shape, deep brain structures cannot be estimated with sufficient accuracy. Our study aims to investigate the possible morphological correspondence between the cranial and deep brain morphologies based on humans and African great apes, with the goal of a more precise reconstruction of fossil brains.Materials and Methods: Midsagittal endocranial and deep brain landmarks were obtained from magnetic resonance images of humans and three species of African great apes. The average midsagittal endocranial profile of all four species was calculated after Procrustes registration. The spatial deformation function from each of the endocranial profiles to the average endocranial profile was defined, and the brain landmarks enclosed in the endocranium were transformed using the deformation function to evaluate the interspecific variabilities of the positions of the brain landmarks on the average endocranial profile.Results: The interspecific differences in the shape-normalized positions of the corpus callosum, anterior commissure, thalamus center, and brainstem were approximately within the range of 2% of the human cranial length, indicating that the interspecific variabilities of the positions of these deep brain structures were relatively small among the four species.Discussion: Such an invariant relationship of the deep brain structure and the endocranium that encloses the brain can potentially be utilized to reconstruct the brains of fossil hominins.

show abstract

Cortical surface area and cortical thickness in the precuneus of adult humans

Cited by 34 publications

References 46 publications

Midsagittal Brain Variation among Non-Human Primates: Insights into Evolutionary Expansion of the Human Precuneus

Midsagittal Brain Variation among Non-Human Primates: Insights into Evolutionary Expansion of the Human Precuneus

Human Paleoneurology and the Evolution of the Parietal Cortex

Morphological invariant of the midsagittal deep brain anatomy between humans and African great apes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About