Equal numbers of neuronal and nonneuronal cells make the human brain an isometrically scaled‐up primate brain

Azevedo, Feliciano; Carvalho, Ludmila R.B.; Grinberg, Lea T.; Farfel, José Marcelo; Ferretti, Renata E.L.; Leite, Renata; Filho, Wilson Jacob; Lent, Roberto; Herculano‐Houzel, Suzana

doi:10.1002/cne.21974

Cited by 1,802 publications

(1,404 citation statements)

References 109 publications

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“…From this new neuron-centred view, there seems to be nothing special about the human compared with the primate brain, except for its size (96) , which basically determines both the number of neurons and nonneurons (110,111) . Detailed comparisons of human and primate brains have revealed other differences, such as different levels of gene expression (112 -114) , secondary to chromosomal rearrangements (115) , differences in the relative extent of the neocortical areas (96,116) , the distribution of cell types (117) and the decrease of brain structure volumes with increasing age in man in contrast to chimpanzees (118,119) .…”

Section: Buiding a Big Brainmentioning

confidence: 97%

A multidisciplinary reconstruction of Palaeolithic nutrition that holds promise for the prevention and treatment of diseases of civilisation

2012

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Evolutionary medicine acknowledges that many chronic degenerative diseases result from conflicts between our rapidly changing environment, our dietary habits included, and our genome, which has remained virtually unchanged since the Palaeolithic era. Reconstruction of the diet before the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions is therefore indicated, but hampered by the ongoing debate on our ancestors' ecological niche. Arguments and their counterarguments regarding evolutionary medicine are updated and the evidence for the long-reigning hypothesis of human evolution on the arid savanna is weighed against the hypothesis that man evolved in the proximity of water. Evidence from various disciplines is discussed, including the study of palaeo-environments, comparative anatomy, biogeochemistry, archaeology, anthropology, (patho)physiology and epidemiology. Although our ancestors had much lower life expectancies, the current evidence does neither support the misconception that during the Palaeolithic there were no elderly nor that they had poor health. Rather than rejecting the possibility of ‘healthy ageing’, the default assumption should be that healthy ageing posed an evolutionary advantage for human survival. There is ample evidence that our ancestors lived in a land–water ecosystem and extracted a substantial part of their diets from both terrestrial and aquatic resources. Rather than rejecting this possibility by lack of evidence, the default assumption should be that hominins, living in coastal ecosystems with catchable aquatic resources, consumed these resources. Finally, the composition and merits of so-called ‘Palaeolithic diets’, based on different hominin niche-reconstructions, are evaluated. The benefits of these diets illustrate that it is time to incorporate this knowledge into dietary recommendations.

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Section: Buiding a Big Brainmentioning

confidence: 97%

A multidisciplinary reconstruction of Palaeolithic nutrition that holds promise for the prevention and treatment of diseases of civilisation

2012

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“…The human brain comprises 86 billion neurons and an even more staggering number of synapses, dendrites, axons and glia cells connecting and supporting them (Azevedo et al, 2009). The vast majority of these cells are formed during prenatal development (Webb et al, 2001).…”

Section: Embryonic and Early Fetal Periodmentioning

confidence: 99%

The emergence of functional architecture during early brain development

2017

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Early human brain development constitutes a sequence of intricate processes resulting in the ontogeny of functionally operative neural circuits. Developmental trajectories of early brain network formation are genetically programmed and can be modified by epigenetic and environmental influences. Such alterations may exert profound effects on neurodevelopment, potentially persisting throughout the lifespan. This review focuses on the critical period of fetal and early postnatal brain development. Here we collate findings from neuroimaging studies, with a particular focus on functional MRI research that interrogated early brain network development in both health and high-risk or disease states. First, we will provide an overview of the developmental processes that take place from the embryonic period through early infancy in order to contextualize brain network formation. Second, functional brain network development in the typically developing brain will be discussed. Third, we will touch on prenatal and perinatal risk factors that may interfere with the trajectories of functional brain wiring, including prenatal substance exposure, maternal mental illness and preterm

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“…The cerebral neocortex is a sheet-like structure that in the macaque contains~1.4 billion neurons/hemisphere deployed over a surface area of~105 cm 2 per hemisphere-equivalent to a pair of~12 cm diameter cookies (Collins et al 2010;Van Essen et al 2012b). Human cortex has about fourfold more neurons (~8 billion/hemisphere) and ninefold greater surface area (~973 AE 88 cm 2 /hemisphere), equivalent to a pair of 35 cm pizzas (Azevedo et al 2009;Van Essen et al 2012c). The average number of neurons underneath each mm 2 of the cortical surface is lower in humans (8 Â10 3 ) than in the macaque (1.4 Â 10 4 ).…”

Section: Cortical Cartography and Parcellationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parcellations and Connectivity Patterns in Human and Macaque Cerebral Cortex

Essen

Donahue

Dierker

et al. 2016

Research and Perspectives in Neurosciences

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To decipher brain function, it is vital to know how the brain is wired. This entails elucidation of brain circuits at multiple scales, including microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic levels. Here, we review recent progress in mapping the macroscopic brain circuits and functional organization of the cerebral cortex in primates-humans and macaque monkeys, in particular. There are many similarities across species in terms of overall patterns of cortical gray matter myelination as well as functional areas that are presumed to be homologous. However, there are also many important species differences, including cortical convolutions that are much more complex and more variable in humans than in monkeys. Our ability to analyze structure and function has benefited from improved methods for intersubject registration that cope with this individual variability. To characterize long-distance connectivity, powerful but indirect methods are now available, including resting-state functional connectivity and diffusion imaging coupled with probabilistic tractography. We illustrate how connectivity inferred from diffusion imaging and tractography can be evaluated in relation to 'ground truth' based on anatomical tracers in the macaque. Interspecies registration between human and macaque cortex based on presumed interspecies homologies demonstrates an impressive degree of areal expansion in regions associated with higher cognitive function.

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Equal numbers of neuronal and nonneuronal cells make the human brain an isometrically scaled‐up primate brain

Cited by 1,802 publications

References 109 publications

A multidisciplinary reconstruction of Palaeolithic nutrition that holds promise for the prevention and treatment of diseases of civilisation

A multidisciplinary reconstruction of Palaeolithic nutrition that holds promise for the prevention and treatment of diseases of civilisation

The emergence of functional architecture during early brain development

Parcellations and Connectivity Patterns in Human and Macaque Cerebral Cortex

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