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.
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About JNeurosci
J Neurosci 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.
JNeurosci
10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2017-24.2025
Connectivity profile and function of uniquely human cortical areas
17-Mar-2025
The authors declare no actual or apparent commercial interest in the material presented in this paper.