Neuroanatomy that sets humans apart from other primates
In a study comparing human brains to macaque and chimpanzee brains, researchers discovered uniquely human neuroanatomical features.
2025-03-17
(Press-News.org) Researchers have widely accepted that what sets humans apart from nonhuman primates are prefrontal cortex–driven behaviors such as decision-making, reasoning, planning, and attention. In a new JNeurosci paper, research led by Rogier Mars, at University of Oxford, and Katherine Bryant, at Aix-Marseille University, provides a better picture of the cortical evolution that distinguishes human brains from other primates.
The researchers compared cortical organization not only between humans and macaques, which is a standard for human and nonhuman primate comparisons in research, but also between humans and chimpanzees, humans’ closest living relative. Notably, the chimpanzee brain scans used in this study were obtained from a publicly accessible research archive prior to the 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Institutes of Health regulations governing research with chimpanzees. In addition to unique prefrontal cortex organization, connections between brain regions associated with emotional regulation, social cognition, and language processing seem distinctly human. The researchers found that this was especially true for chimpanzee comparisons. According to the authors, their study suggests that emotional and social behaviors may distinguish human abilities from other species in addition to behaviors driven by prefrontal cortex.
###
Please contact media@sfn.org for full-text PDF.
About JNeurosci
JNeurosci was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today, the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact, while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship.
About The Society for Neuroscience
The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 35,000 members in more than 95 countries.
END
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2025-03-17
How stress impacts behavioral outcomes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) represents a major gap in knowledge. This oversight is especially felt by those in the military due to the high prevalence of TBI and the abundance of stress that they endure. In a study funded by the US Department of Defense, researchers led by Pamela VandeVord at Virginia Tech discovered that prior stress exposure influences TBI outcomes in a sex-dependent manner.
In their eNeuro paper, VandeVord and colleagues used an unpredictable stress paradigm ...
2025-03-17
MIAMI, FLORIDA (EMBARGOED UNTIL MARCH 17, 2025, AT NOON EDT) – Glioblastoma has remained one of the toughest cancers to treat, resisting even the latest advances in immunotherapy. But new research from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, suggests a way forward: suppressing a protein called ZNF638 triggers an antiviral immune response, making immune checkpoint inhibitors more effective. The discovery not only offers a potential new treatment strategy but also identifies ...
2025-03-17
In a randomized trial, Mass General Brigham researchers found the surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids was effective for children with snoring and mild sleep apnea
An estimated 6 to 17 percent of children have sleep-disordered breathing, ranging from snoring to sleep apnea, which can cause behavioral, neurocognitive, cardiovascular, and cardiometabolic issues. A new study from Mass General Brigham researchers reveals that adenotonsillectomy—the surgical removal of tonsils and adenoids—is an effective early intervention for these children. Their results are published in JAMA Pediatrics.
“To ...
2025-03-17
About The Study: This cohort study found that statin use was associated with a reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatic decompensation in patients with chronic liver disease. These findings provide support for the potential role of statins in prevention of hepatocellular carcinoma and liver disease progression.
Corresponding Authors: To contact the corresponding authors, email Jonggi Choi, MD, PhD, (j.choi@amc.seoul.kr) and Raymond T. Chung, MD, (chung.raymond@mgh.harvard.edu).
To ...
2025-03-17
About The Study: In this longitudinal observational cohort study, gender-affirming hormone therapy was associated with lower rates of moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms, highlighting the importance of gender-affirming primary care models for transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse patients.
Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Sari L. Reisner, ScD, MA, email sreisner@umich.edu.
To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/
(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0955)
Editor’s ...
2025-03-17
What: Surgical removal of enlarged tonsils and adenoids in children with mild sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) appears to significantly reduce the frequency of medical office visits and prescription medicine use in this group, according to a clinical study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The findings, published in JAMA Pediatrics, show that the surgery, called adenotonsillectomy, was tied to a 32% reduction in medical visits and a 48% reduction in prescription use among children with a mild form of the condition.
SDB refers to breathing disturbances during sleep ...
2025-03-17
Stuttgart – A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS) in Stuttgart developed a biohybrid micro swimmer covered with magnetic material, whose swimming ability is largely unaffected by the coating. The team from the Physical Intelligence Department at MPI-IS published their work in the journal Matter, which covers a wide range of materials science research.
In nature, the ten-micron small, single-cell microalgae are fantastic swimmers, propelled by their two whip-like ...
2025-03-17
Impact Journals is proud to participate in the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025, taking place April 25-30 in Chicago, Illinois.
BUFFALO, NY- March 17, 2025 – Impact Journals is pleased to announce its participation as an exhibitor at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2025. The meeting is scheduled for April 25-30, 2025, at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois.
The 2025 AACR Annual Meeting theme, “Unifying Cancer Science and Medicine: A Continuum of Innovation ...
2025-03-17
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct images of carbon dioxide in a planet outside the solar system in HR 8799, a multiplanet system 130 light-years away that has long been a key target for planet formation studies.
The observations provide strong evidence that the system’s four giant planets formed in much the same way as Jupiter and Saturn, by slowly building solid cores. They also confirm Webb can do more than infer atmospheric composition from starlight measurements—it can directly analyze the chemistry ...
2025-03-17
A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored clinical trial of a candidate vaccine to prevent Lassa fever has begun enrolling participants at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore. Lassa fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease that can be fatal and that causes permanent hearing loss in up to one-third of those who contract it. Lassa virus is spread by rodents, known as multimammate rats, that are native to many countries in West Africa. The virus can also be spread from person to person. Currently, there are no specific drug treatments or vaccines for Lassa fever. NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Neuroanatomy that sets humans apart from other primates
In a study comparing human brains to macaque and chimpanzee brains, researchers discovered uniquely human neuroanatomical features.
