A human craniofacial life‐course: Cross‐sectional morphological covariations during postnatal growth, adolescence, and aging

Jeffery, Nathan; Humphreys, Craig; Manson, Amy

doi:10.1002/ar.24736

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…However, the relationships were negatively signedthat is shape changes were linked to decreases of relative brain sizes during ontogeny, rather than increases. Similar decreases in relative brain sizes have been observed during human postnatal life as well (Jeffery et al, 2022). Overall, the strongest relationship of cranium shape reported here involved the neuro-facial index, and the prominence of the face in our analyses is consistent with previous studies of other primates, including humans (e.g.…”

Section: Spatial-packingsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Various kinematic, structural and physiological limitations on the overall size and growth of the head mean its constituent tissues are not all necessarily free to simultaneously adopt their genetically favoured size and shape (form) during ontogeny. Some must adapt their form, either transiently or permanently, via signalling mechanisms and plastic deformation as the spatial demands of other tissues prevail (see Jeffery et al, 2021Jeffery et al, , 2022. Whilst many researchers consider the brain the most important influence within this morphological milieu, it is widely recognised that other soft tissues can help sculpt the genetic expression of head form and that the brain itself is not an immutable agent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Postnatal growth and spatial conformity of the cranium, brain, eyeballs and masseter muscles in the macaque (Macaca mulatta)

Jeffery

Manson

2023

Journal of Anatomy

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Spatial growth constraints in the head region can lead to coordinated patterns of morphological variation that pleiotropically modify genetically defined phenotypes as the tissues compete for space. Here we test for such architectural modifications during rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) postnatal ontogeny. We captured cranium and brain shape from 153 MRI datasets spanning 13 to 1090 postnatal days and tested for patterns of covariation with measurements of relative brain, eyeball, and masseter muscle size as well as callosal tract length. We find that the shape of the infant (<365 days) macaque cranium was most closely aligned to masseter muscle and brain size measured relative to face size. Infant brain and juvenile (365–1090 days) cranium shape were more closely linked with brain size relative to basicranium and face size. Meanwhile, the juvenile macaque brain shape was dominated by the size of the brain relative to that of the basicranium. Associations with relative eyeball size and commissural tract lengths were weaker. Our results are consistent with a spatial‐packing regime operating during postnatal macaque ontogeny, in which relative growth of the masseter, face and basicranium have a greater influence than brain growth on the overall shape of the cranium and brain.

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Section: Spatial-packingsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postnatal growth and spatial conformity of the cranium, brain, eyeballs and masseter muscles in the macaque (Macaca mulatta)

Jeffery

Manson

2023

Journal of Anatomy

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“…4 A ) remain to be elucidated along similar lines of evidence. MRI-based studies have revealed structural changes in the brain after the completion of brain growth, especially in the frontal cortex during adolescence ( 13 , 19 , 25 ). However, these changes have only little effect on the shape of the endocast and cannot account for endocranial shape change from immature to adult fossil H. sapiens ( Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other external constraints also influence endocranial shape. Overall, evolutionary and developmental changes in endocranial shape are due not only to intrinsic changes in the brain but also to extrinsic factors such as the changing proportions of the neurocranium (the skull region enclosing the brain) relative to the viscerocranium (the face and cranial base) ( 7 , 13 ). Facial size in members of the H. sapiens species lineage gradually reduced during the past 200–300 ka ( 14 ), a period during which techno-cultural changes and changes in subsistence strategy had impacts on facial size and shape as well as on masticatory function ( 15 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Endocranial ontogeny and evolution in earlyHomo sapiens: The evidence from Herto, Ethiopia

Zollikofer

Bienvenu

Beyene

et al. 2022

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Fossils and artifacts from Herto, Ethiopia, include the most complete child and adult crania of early Homo sapiens . The endocranial cavities of the Herto individuals show that by 160,000 y ago, brain size, inferred from endocranial size, was similar to that seen in modern human populations. However, endocranial shape differed from ours. This gave rise to the hypothesis that the brain itself evolved substantially during the past ∼200,000 y, possibly in tandem with the transition from Middle to Upper Paleolithic techno-cultures. However, it remains unclear whether evolutionary changes in endocranial shape mostly reflect changes in brain morphology rather than changes related to interaction with maxillofacial morphology. To discriminate between these effects, we make use of the ontogenetic fact that brain growth nearly ceases by the time the first permanent molars fully erupt, but the face and cranial base continue to grow until adulthood. Here we use morphometric data derived from digitally restored immature and adult H. sapiens fossils from Herto, Qafzeh, and Skhul (HQS) to track endocranial development in early H. sapiens . Until the completion of brain growth, endocasts of HQS children were similar in shape to those of modern human children. The similarly shaped endocasts of fossil and modern children indicate that our brains did not evolve substantially over the past 200,000 y. Differences between the endocranial shapes of modern and fossil H. sapiens adults developed only with continuing facial and basicranial growth, possibly reflecting substantial differences in masticatory and/or respiratory function.

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“…lower sexing accuracy for the 12–15 years' age interval probably as a result of differences in the development of boys and girls during puberty). Another study based on the analysis of magnetic resonance imaging datasets (Jeffery et al, 2022) revealed size‐dependent sexual differences in craniofacial variation well before puberty.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual dimorphism in human midfacial growth patterns from newborn to 5 years old based on computed tomography

et al. 2022

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Recent studies have supported the presence and varying nature of craniofacial sexual dimorphism (SD) from the very first stages of ontogeny. But the exact patterns of between‐sex differences during the first years of life remain obscure despite the importance of these data for craniofacial surgery treatment and forensic studies. Our study employs a large dataset of clinical computed tomography scans of individuals of East Slavonic descent from birth to 5 years of age (247 males and 184 females) to address the pattern of age‐related between‐sex differences in 22 linear measurements of the mid‐face. At birth, SD of most dimensions is low, but it increases significantly during the first year of life. The level of SD of most variables fluctuates in both directions during the second year and peaks during the third and fourth years of life. During the sixth year, SD of about half of the variables markedly decreases. In adults, SD of all variables increases, but to a very different extent: from 2% to 13%. Most sexually dimorphic features of the facial skeleton begin to develop early in postnatal ontogeny and then may or may not become accentuated during puberty. Importantly, the patterns of age changes in the level of SD differ strongly between various dimensions, and so cannot be expressed by a single value for the whole face. Additionally, the level of SD for a particular variable is not ontogenetically stable during the first years of life.

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A human craniofacial life‐course: Cross‐sectional morphological covariations during postnatal growth, adolescence, and aging

Cited by 4 publications

References 62 publications

Postnatal growth and spatial conformity of the cranium, brain, eyeballs and masseter muscles in the macaque (Macaca mulatta)

Postnatal growth and spatial conformity of the cranium, brain, eyeballs and masseter muscles in the macaque (Macaca mulatta)

Endocranial ontogeny and evolution in earlyHomo sapiens: The evidence from Herto, Ethiopia

Sexual dimorphism in human midfacial growth patterns from newborn to 5 years old based on computed tomography

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