Multi-region hemispheric specialization differentiates human from nonhuman primate brain function
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: The human behavioral repertoire greatly exceeds that of nonhuman primates. Anatomical specializations of the human brain include an enlarged neocortex and prefrontal cortex (Semendeferi et al. in Am J Phys Anthropol 114:224-241, 2001), but regional enlargements alone cannot account for these vast functional differences. Hemispheric specialization has long believed to be a major contributing factor to such distinctive human characteristics as motor dominance, attentional control and language. Yet structural cerebral asymmetries, documented in both humans and some nonhuman primate species, are relatively minor compared to behavioral lateralization. Identifying the mechanisms that underlie these functional differences remains a goal of considerable interest. Here, we investigate the intrinsic connectivity networks in four primate species (humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and capuchin monkeys) using resting-state fMRI to evaluate the intra- and inter- hemispheric coherences of spontaneous BOLD fluctuation. All three nonhuman primate species displayed lateralized functional networks that were strikingly similar to those observed in humans. However, only humans had multi-region lateralized networks, which provide fronto-parietal connectivity. Our results indicate that this pattern of within-hemisphere connectivity distinguishes humans from nonhuman primates.
Source: Brain Structure and Function
Authors: Hsiao-Ying Wey, Kimberley A. Phillips, D. Reese McKay, Angela R. Laird, Peter Kochunov, M. Duff Davis, David C. Glahn, Timothy Q. Duong, Peter T. Fox
Institutions: Harvard University, The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Trinity University, Yale University, Florida International University, University of Maryland, Baltimore, University of Maryland, College Park
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,790
Funders: American Heart Association, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Center for Research Resources, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs, National Institutes of Health
Awards: G159247434, G1672122228, 1/2 Genetics of Brain Structure and Function, G2416079052, Stroke Imaging of Conscious Rats, G2946664248, Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science: A Partnership to Improve Health, G3907386461, G4265674183, A Neuroimaging Study of Primate Brain Development and Aging in the Marmoset, The Southwest National Primate Research Center, G499233991, Macrostructural and Microstructural Analysis of the Primate Corpus Callosum, Genetics of Brain Structure and Function: Genome-Wide Association, Solar-Eclipse Computational Tools for Imaging Genetics, Institute for Integration of Medicine & Science: A Partnership to Improve Health, G7239431997, The Southwest National Primate Research Center
OpenAlex ID: W2142704974