Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Recent advances in structural magnetic resonance imaging technology and analysis now allows for accurate in vivo measurement of cortical thickness, an important aspect of cortical organization that has historically only been conducted on postmortem brains. In this study, for the first time, we examined regional and lateralized cortical thickness in a sample of 71 chimpanzees for comparison with previously reported findings in humans. We also measured gray and white matter volumes for each subject. The results indicated that chimpanzees showed significant regional variation in cortical thickness with lower values in primary motor and sensory cortex compared with association cortex. Furthermore, chimpanzees showed significant rightward asymmetries in cortical thickness for a number of regions of interest throughout the cortex and leftward asymmetries in white but not gray matter volume. We also found that total and region-specific cortical thickness was significantly negatively correlated with white matter volume. Thus, chimpanzees with greater white matter volumes had thinner cortical thickness. The collective findings are discussed within the context of previous findings in humans and theories on the evolution of cortical organization and lateralization in primates.
Source: Journal of Neuroscience
Authors: William D. Hopkins, Brian B. Avants
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Funders: National Institutes of Health, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Awards: G1086864568, G1307951129, G1394595223, G2020261302, G2622071311, G3626342794, G3920023947, Heritability of Neuroanatomical Asymmetries in Primates, G4973816967, G587328437, Pediatric Template of Brain Perfusion, Shape Optimizing Diffeomorphisms for Computational Biology, Vasopressin Receptor Polymorphism and Social Cognition, Hemispheric Specialization and Communication, Biobehavioral Foundations and Development of Cognitive Competence, G9000101751
OpenAlex ID: W2137226118