Behavioral and brain asymmetries in primates: a preliminary evaluation of two evolutionary hypotheses

Hopkins, William D.; Misiura, Maria; Pope, Sarah M.; Latash, Elitaveta M.

doi:10.1111/nyas.12936

Cited by 55 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 175 publications

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“…As far as some structural asymmetries go, there is support for this hypothesis within the primate line of evolution [64], but, as we have outlined, no such support comes from evidence of behavioural lateralization across a broad range of species. To put it simply, the small brains of insects are just as functionally lateralized as the large brains of vertebrates, even those of the apes.…”

Section: Why Lateralize Rather Than Grow Larger?mentioning

confidence: 88%

“…This strong bias could, of course, be coincidental, but it could be worth exploring further. In vertebrates, the population bias tends to be around 70%, although in sulphur crested cockatoos, the preference to hold food items in the left foot is above 90% and, hence, is equivalent to right handedness in humans (for a comparison of asymmetries in the use of limbs in human and non-human species, see Versace and Vallortigara [63] and Hopkins et al [64]). …”

Section: Disadvantages In Having An Asymmetrical Brainmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some have argued that lateralization of brain function increased as the size of the brain increased across species and even that behavioural and anatomical asymmetry emerged merely as a by-product of evolutionary selection for a larger brain (discussed in Hopkins et al [64]). As far as some structural asymmetries go, there is support for this hypothesis within the primate line of evolution [64], but, as we have outlined, no such support comes from evidence of behavioural lateralization across a broad range of species.…”

Section: Why Lateralize Rather Than Grow Larger?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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When and Why Did Brains Break Symmetry?

Rogers

Vallortígara

2015

Symmetry

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Asymmetry of brain function is known to be widespread amongst vertebrates, and it seems to have appeared very early in their evolution. In fact, recent evidence of functional asymmetry in invertebrates suggests that even small brains benefit from the allocation of different functions to the left and right sides. This paper discusses the differing functions of the left and right sides of the brain, including the roles of the left and right antennae of bees (several species) in both short-and long-term recall of olfactory memories and in social behaviour. It considers the likely advantages of functional asymmetry in small and large brains and whether functional asymmetry in vertebrates and invertebrates is analogous or homologous. Neural or cognitive capacity can be enhanced both by the evolution of a larger brain and by lateralization of brain function: a possible reason why both processes occur side-by-side is offered.Keywords: brain asymmetry; invertebrates; vertebrates; evolution; memory; social interactions Asymmetry in the Brains of VertebratesDespite its superficial appearance of symmetry, the vertebrate brain is functionally asymmetrical, and there are structural asymmetries in its substructure (e.g., in neuronal connections and neurotransmitters). It has been long known that the left hemisphere of the human brain is specialized to produce speech and process language and that this asymmetry is manifested in structural asymmetry in the planum temporale region of the cortex [1,2]. However, over the last three to four decades, it has become clear that OPEN ACCESS

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Section: Why Lateralize Rather Than Grow Larger?mentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Disadvantages In Having An Asymmetrical Brainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Why Lateralize Rather Than Grow Larger?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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When and Why Did Brains Break Symmetry?

Rogers

Vallortígara

2015

Symmetry

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“…However, direct evaluations of the heritability of brain asymmetry in humans are not common in the literature [49], which may reflect a publication bias resulting from negative results. In chimpanzees, however, it has been reported that the AQ of grey matter volume shows low but significant heritability in the posterior region of the superior temporal gyrus, but not in the inferior frontal gyrus [49]. Because our previous studies have demonstrated that FA is preferentially located in the inferior frontal region in chimpanzees [12], we hypothesize that significant heritability for DA may be harder to identify in brain regions with strong FA.…”

Section: (A) Directional Asymmetry and Functional Lateralizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The heritability of chimpanzee and human brain asymmetry

et al. 2016

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Human brains are markedly asymmetric in structure and lateralized in function, which suggests a relationship between these two properties. The brains of other closely related primates, such as chimpanzees, show similar patterns of asymmetry, but to a lesser degree, indicating an increase in anatomical and functional asymmetry during hominin evolution. We analysed the heritability of cerebral asymmetry in chimpanzees and humans using classic morphometrics, geometric morphometrics, and quantitative genetic techniques. In our analyses, we separated directional asymmetry and fluctuating asymmetry (FA), which is indicative of environmental influences during development. We show that directional patterns of asymmetry, those that are consistently present in most individuals in a population, do not have significant heritability when measured through simple linear metrics, but they have marginally significant heritability in humans when assessed through three-dimensional configurations of landmarks that reflect variation in the size, position, and orientation of different cortical regions with respect to each other. Furthermore, genetic correlations between left and right hemispheres are substantially lower in humans than in chimpanzees, which points to a relatively stronger environmental influence on left-right differences in humans. We also show that the level of FA has significant heritability in both species in some regions of the cerebral cortex. This suggests that brain responsiveness to environmental influences, which may reflect neural plasticity, has genetic bases in both species. These results have implications for the evolvability of brain asymmetry and plasticity among humans and our close relatives.

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“…We measured the IFG using methods that have been described in detail elsewhere [50]. At the start, the image was first oriented into the sagittal plane, where the most lateral slice with a fully visible fronto-orbital (FO) sulcus was identified.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Motor skill for tool-use is associated with asymmetries in Broca’s area and the motor hand area of the precentral gyrus in chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes )

Hopkins

Meguerditchian

Coulon

et al. 2017

Behavioural Brain Research

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Among nonhuman primates, chimpanzees are well known for their sophistication and diversity of tool use in both captivity and the wild. The evolution of tool manufacture and use has been proposed as a driving mechanism for the development of increasing brain size, complex cognition and motor skills, as well as the population-level handedness observed in modern humans. Notwithstanding, our understanding of the neurological correlates of tool use in chimpanzees and other primates remains poorly understood. Here, we assessed the hand preference and performance skill of chimpanzees on a tool use task and correlated these data with measures of neuroanatomical asymmetries in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the pli-de-passage fronto-parietal moyen (PPFM). The IFG is the homolog to Broca’s area in the chimpanzee brain and the PPFM is a buried gyrus that connects the pre- and post-central gyri and corresponds to the motor-hand area of the precentral gyrus. We found that chimpanzees that performed the task better with their right compared to left hand showed greater leftward asymmetries in the IFG and PPFM. This association between hand performance and PPFM asymmetry was particularly robust for right-handed individuals. Based on these findings, we propose that the evolution of tool use was associated with increased left hemisphere specialization for motor skill. We further suggest that lateralization in motor planning, rather than hand preference per se, was selected for with increasing tool manufacture and use in Hominid evolution.

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Behavioral and brain asymmetries in primates: a preliminary evaluation of two evolutionary hypotheses

Cited by 55 publications

References 175 publications

When and Why Did Brains Break Symmetry?

When and Why Did Brains Break Symmetry?

The heritability of chimpanzee and human brain asymmetry

Motor skill for tool-use is associated with asymmetries in Broca’s area and the motor hand area of the precentral gyrus in chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes )

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