Neck function in early hominins and suspensory primates: Insights from the uncinate process

Meyer, Marc R.; Woodward, C. E.; Tims, Amy R.; Bastir, Markus

doi:10.1002/ajpa.23448

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 157 publications

(193 reference statements)

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“…For example, the neck can stabilize the head when the trunk moves during locomotion, and it can also move the head on a stationary trunk to locate the source of an external stimulus. Correlations between cervical vertebral morphology and positional behavior (i.e., neck posture and/or locomotor mode) across primates have been detected in previous work (Manfreda, Mitteroecker, Bookstein, & Schaefer, ; Meyer, Woodward, Tims, & Bastir, ; Nalley, ; Nalley & Grider‐Potter, , ). These studies have focused their interpretations of cervical variation within the context of locomotor differences but have yet to test these inferences directly.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 68%

“…Although they are thought to provide joint stability, it could be that soft tissue more strongly inhibits motion. Meyer et al () published a geometric morphometric analysis of uncinate process morphology in primates. The results indicated that larger primates tend to have relatively shorter processes than do smaller bodied species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Only a few studies have attempted to relate cervical form to neck function across primates (Ankel, ; Gómez‐Olivencia et al, ; Gommery, ; Schultz, , ; Toerien, ), and even fewer have tested functional hypotheses in a comparative biomechanical framework (Manfreda et al, ; Meyer et al, ; Nalley, ; Nalley & Grider‐Potter, , ; Parks, ). Some of these studies have had some success in understanding the influences of locomotion on vertebral morphology (Manfreda et al, ; Meyer et al, ; Nalley, ), but the use of categorical estimates of locomotor behavior has imposed limitations to connecting form and function. For example, in their geometric morphometric analysis of C1 morphology, Manfreda et al () did not find a relationship between locomotor categories and concavity of the superior articular facets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influences of passive intervertebral range of motion on cervical vertebral form

Grider-Potter

Nalley

Thompson

et al. 2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives: The cervical spine is the junction between the head and trunk, and it therefore facilitates head mobility and stability. The goal of this study is to test several predictions regarding cervical morphology and intervertebral ranges of motion. Materials and Methods:Intervertebral ranges of motion for 12 primate species were collected via radiographs or taken from the literature. Morphometric data describing functionally relevant aspects of cervical vertebral morphology were obtained from museum specimens representing these species. We tested for correlations between intervertebral movement and vertebral form using phylogenetic generalized leastsquares regression.Results: Results demonstrate limited support for the hypothesis that range of motion (ROM) is influenced by cervical vertebral morphology. Few morphological variables correlate with ROM and no relationship is consistently significant across cervical joints.Discussion: These results indicate that the relationship between vertebral morphology and joint ranges of motion is, at most, weak, providing little support the use of bony morphology to reconstruct axial mobility in fossil specimens. Future work should investigate the role of soft tissues in vertebral joint stability. K E Y W O R D S cervical vertebrae, range of motion

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influences of passive intervertebral range of motion on cervical vertebral form

Grider-Potter

Nalley

Thompson

et al. 2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…Previous studies had been conducted to measure parameters of the spine in mammals, and the anatomy of the baboon has been directly used to compare with the related structures in human subjects [19]. Some comparative anatomical analyses of cervical vertebrae between human subjects and nonhuman primates have also been conducted [20][21][22][23][24]. For example, Manfreda et al [24] used geometric morphometry to study the relationship between the morphology of the atlas and the movement pattern of primates and indicated that the human atlas morphology may be a unique adaption.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nalley et al [21] assessed the morphology of the upper cervical vertebrae of primates and identified a significant association between the head and neck posture and the morphology of the cervical spine. Meyer et al [23] evaluated the uncinate processes of existing primates to construct a cervical kinematics model of Anatomy early fossil hominins. Nakatsukasa et al [22] demonstrated that the bipedal movement of macaques after training is inconsistent with that of human subjects, which may be the result of a genetic limitation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of the anatomical morphology of cervical vertebrae between humans and macaques: related to a spinal cord injury model

Liu

Zhou

et al. 2021

Exp. Anim.

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Non-human primates are most suitable for generating cervical experimental models, and it is necessary to study the anatomy of the cervical spine in non-human primates when generating the models. The purpose of this study was to provide the anatomical parameters of the cervical spine and spinal cord in long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) as a basis for cervical spine-related experimental studies.Cervical spine specimens from 8 male adult subjects were scanned by micro-computed tomography, and an additional 10 live male subjects were scanned by magnetic resonance imaging. The measurements and parameters from them were compared to those of 12 male adult human subjects. Additionally, 10 live male subjects were scanned by magnetic resonance imaging, and the width and depth of the spinal cord and spinal canal and the thickness of the anterior and posterior cerebrospinal fluid were measured and compared to the relevant parameters of 10 male adult human subjects. The tendency of cervical parameters to change with segmental changes was similar between species. The vertebral body, spinal canal, and spinal cord were significantly flatter in the human subjects than in the long-tailed macaques.The cerebrospinal fluid space in the long-tailed macaques was smaller than that in the human subjects.The anatomical features of the cervical vertebrae of long-tailed macaques provide a reference for establishing a preclinical model of cervical spinal cord injury.

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Phylogenetic and functional signal in prezygapophyseal articular facet shape of the first post‐transitional vertebra in anthropoids

Jung

Simons

Holowka

et al. 2022

American Journal of Biological Anthropology

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Objectives: Previous studies of the prezygapophyseal articular facet (PAF) of the thoracolumbar vertebrae in primates have suggested that the morphology of this feature reflects relative mobility of the lower back, and therefore corresponds to locomotor behavior. Specifically, these studies suggest that the PAF morphology found in cercopithecoids reflects greater mobility of the lower back compared to a stiffer lower back adapted for forelimb-dominated suspensory behaviors in hominoids. In this study, we sought to re-examine this question in terms of both locomotor behavior and phylogenetic signal in a broad sample of anthropoid taxa. Materials and Methods:The study sample consisted of 291 first post-transitional vertebrae of wild-caught individuals representing 27 extant anthropoid species (16 genera). Vertebrae were 3D scanned, and 19 landmarks were digitized. PAF shape was tested for the presence of a phylogenetic signal using the multivariate version of the K-statistic (K mult ), and a chronometric consensus phylogenetic tree was mapped onto the major axes of shape space using species means to produce a phylomorphospace.Results: Results showed that phylogenetic signal is statistically significant in PAF shape (K mult = 0.3; p < 0.0001), and phylogenetic separation is apparent in the phylomorphospace, with some exceptions. However, certain aspects of PAF shape also appear to be associated with locomotor behavior within major taxonomic groups, such as hominoids and platyrrhines.Discussion: Our results suggest that both phylogenetic relatedness and function may contribute to PAF shape variation in anthropoids.

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Neck function in early hominins and suspensory primates: Insights from the uncinate process

Cited by 11 publications

References 157 publications

Influences of passive intervertebral range of motion on cervical vertebral form

Influences of passive intervertebral range of motion on cervical vertebral form

Comparison of the anatomical morphology of cervical vertebrae between humans and macaques: related to a spinal cord injury model

Phylogenetic and functional signal in prezygapophyseal articular facet shape of the first post‐transitional vertebra in anthropoids

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