Organization and evolution of parieto-frontal processing streams in macaque monkeys and humans

Caminiti, Roberto; Innocenti, Giorgio M.; Battaglia-Mayer, Alexandra

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.06.014

Cited by 90 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 396 publications

(490 reference statements)

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“…The parietal lobes display subtle parcellations, with cytoarchitecture and connectivity largely conserved in humans and monkeys (Scheperjans et al 2008b; Caspers et al, 2011; Mars et al 2011; Caminiti et al 2015). Because of this stable organization, it has been hypothesized that possible differences in humans may reflect expansion and functional modification of existing subdivisions, more-so than the addition of novel elements.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for expansion of the precuneus in human evolution

et al. 2016

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The evolution of neurocranial morphology in Homo sapiens is characterized by bulging of the parietal region, a feature unique to our species. In modern humans, expansion of the parietal surface occurs during the first year of life, in a morphogenetic stage which is absent in chimpanzees and Neandertals. A similar variation in brain shape among living adult humans is associated with expansion of the precuneus. Using MRI-derived structural brain templates, we compare medial brain morphology between humans and chimpanzees through shape analysis and geometrical modeling. We find that the main spatial difference is a prominent expansion of the precuneus in our species, providing further evidence of evolutionary changes associated with this area. The precuneus is a major hub of brain organization, a central node of the default-mode network, and plays an essential role in visuospatial integration. Together, the comparative neuroanatomical and paleontological evidence suggest that precuneus expansion is a specialization of Homo sapiens that evolved in the last 150,000 years that may be associated with recent human cognitive specializations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence for expansion of the precuneus in human evolution

et al. 2016

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“…Of course, the features described in this article should be integrated within a more comprehensive scenario. For example, we currently recognize the crucial importance of the frontoparietal system, these two regions being deeply interconnected by functional and connective networks [Jung and Haier, 2007;Caminiti et al, 2015].…”

Section: Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Paleoneurology and the Evolution of the Parietal Cortex

Bruner¹

2018

Brain Behav Evol

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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.

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“…The most common description is that of multiple parallel parietal–frontal networks (Goldman-Rakic 1988), some of which might facilitate different aspects of the movement repertoire (Gharbawie et al 2011). However, both the segregation of such information processing streams (Caminiti et al 2015) and the convergence of parietal connections in parts of premotor cortex have been emphasized (Wise et al 1997). At a higher level of description, a gradient can be seen in the inferior parietal cortex, where progressively more posterior regions connect to progressively more anterior frontal regions (Caspers et al 2011), referred to as “core–shell organization”.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping multiple principles of parietal–frontal cortical organization using functional connectivity

et al. 2018

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Resting state functional connectivity has been promoted as a promising tool for creating cortical maps that show remarkable similarity to those established by invasive histological methods. While this tool has been largely used to identify and map cortical areas, its true potential in the context of studying connectional architecture and in conducting comparative neuroscience has remained unexplored. Here, we employ widely used resting state connectivity and data-driven clustering methods to extend this approach for the study of the organizational principles of the macaque parietal–frontal system. We show multiple, overlapping principles of organization, including a dissociation between dorsomedial and dorsolateral pathways and separate parietal–premotor and parietal–frontal pathways. These results demonstrate the suitability of this approach for understanding the complex organizational principles of the brain and for large-scale comparative neuroscience.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s00429-018-1791-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Organization and evolution of parieto-frontal processing streams in macaque monkeys and humans

Cited by 90 publications

References 396 publications

Evidence for expansion of the precuneus in human evolution

Evidence for expansion of the precuneus in human evolution

Human Paleoneurology and the Evolution of the Parietal Cortex

Mapping multiple principles of parietal–frontal cortical organization using functional connectivity

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