The nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum exhibit greater dopaminergic innervation in humans compared to other primates
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Recent evidence suggests that increased dopaminergic signaling within the dorsal striatum played a central role in the evolution of the human brain. This increase has been linked to human pro-sociality and language in what has been described as a dopamine-dominated striatum personality style. Increased striatal dopamine is associated with an increase in ventral striatal activity and promotes externally-driven behaviors, including cooperation and social conformity. In contrast, decreased striatal dopamine is associated with increased dorsal striatal activity andfavors internally driven and goal-oriented behaviors. Previous comparative studies have focused on the dorsal striatum, measuring dopaminergic innervation in the dorsal and medial caudate nucleus and putamen. Here, we add to this knowledge by examining regions of the ventral striatum. We quantified the density of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive axons, as a measure of dopaminergic innervation, in the nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum of humans, great apes, platyrrhine and cercopithecid monkeys. Our data show that humans have a significantly greater dopaminergic innervation in both structures, supporting the hypothesis that selection for a prosocial neurochemistry in the human basal ganglia may have contributed to the evolution of our uniquely social behavior profile.
Source: Brain Structure and Function
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: National Science Foundation, Northwestern University, University of Washington, National Institutes of Health, Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, Oregon National Primate Research Center, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Awards: G1159995605, G1226063884, G1294778923, G1566027442, G1646614285, Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), G3335858628, G3705234011, G3849153644, G4283710162, A National Chimpanzee Brain Resource, G5108495837, INSPIRE: Neural and Genetic Factors Underlying Individual and Phylogenetic Variation in Communication, G5992890995, G7512352448, Collaborative Research: URoL: Epigenetics 2: Epigenetics in development and Evolution of Primate Brains, Human Origins and Comparative Neurochemistry, G8165636430, G9000006844, G9000046723, G9000227227, G9000292184, G9000343792, Support for National Primate Research Center
OpenAlex ID: W3165183863