On the Evolution of the Craniocerebral Topography in Primates*

Hofer, H.

doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1969.tb56343.x

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…After birth, the brain, which develops earlier than any other structure in mammals, strongly influences neurocranial (Topinard, 1891; Delattre, 1951;Moss and Young, 1960;Delattre and Fenart, 1963;Hofer, 1969;Moss, 1973;Michejda, 1975;Sirianni and Swindler, 1979;Moss et al, 1982;Sirianni, 1985), and orbit (Hartwig, 1995) growth. Slower neurocranial growth with respect to the face as seen in Saimiri was also observed in rats (Pucciarelli, 1981;Oyhenart, (Schultz, 1962;Pucciarelli et al, 1990;Dressino, 1991;Pucciarelli and Dressino, 1996).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cranial growth inSaimiri sciureus (Cebidae) and its alteration by nutritional factors: A longitudinal study

Dressino

Pucciarelli

1997

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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Ten male Saimiri sciureus boliviensis (Cebidae), born at the Centro Argentino de Primates (CAPRIM), were grown in captivity. At weaning (6 months old), five individuals were fed ad libitum on a 20% protein diet (controls). The other five animals were fed ad libitum on a 5% protein diet (malnourished). Animals were radiographed monthly. The length, width, and height of the anterior, middle, and posterior components of the neurocranium, and those of the masticatory, respiratory, and optic components of the face were measured. A pattern of high growth rate was observed in both the three facial and the middle neural components. The anterior and posterior neural components showed a pattern of low rate of growth. The growth behavior of each variable was also different. Lengths grew more than widths and heights in the facial components, whereas widths grew more than heights and lengths in the neurocranium. Malnutrition delayed growth in size and altered the normal shape changes. High-patterned variables, such as masticatory and respiratory lengths, and the anterior and middle neural widths were particularly affected. The masticatory and the middle neural components underwent the greatest growth arrest. The optic and the respiratory components suffered a mild effect. The anterior and the posterior neural components were affected to a lesser degree.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cranial growth inSaimiri sciureus (Cebidae) and its alteration by nutritional factors: A longitudinal study

Dressino

Pucciarelli

1997

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

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“…Hofer (1969) was among the first to propose such a hypothesis. He suggested that differential enlargement of the cerebrum not only maximizes its sphericity, and thereby provides the potential adaptive advantages of reduced neural wiring lengths and better skull balance (see Jerison, 1982;Ross and Henneberg, 1995), but also necessitates a flexion between the cerebrum and brain-stem that is matched by flexion of the midline basicranium.…”

Section: Phylogenetic Perspectivementioning

confidence: 93%

Brain size and the human cranial base: A prenatal perspective

Jeffery

Spoor

2002

American J Phys Anthropol

107

120

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Pivotally positioned as the interface between the neurocranium and the face, the cranial base has long been recognized as a key area to our understanding of the origins of modern human skull form. Compared with other primates, modern humans have more coronally orientated petrous bones and a higher degree of basicranial flexion, resulting in a deeper and wider posterior cranial fossa. It has been argued that this derived condition results from a phylogenetic increase in the size of the brain and its subcomponents (infra- and supratentorial volumes) relative to corresponding lengths of the cranial base (posterior and anterior, respectively). The purpose of this study was to test such evolutionary hypotheses in a prenatal ontogenetic context. We measured the degree of basicranial flexion, petrous reorientation, base lengths, and endocranial volumes from high-resolution magnetic resonance images (hrMRI) of 46 human fetuses ranging from 10-29 weeks of gestation. Bivariate comparisons with age revealed a number of temporal trends during the period investigated, most notable of which were coronal rotation of the petrous bones and basicranial retroflexion (flattening). Importantly, the results reveal significant increases of relative endocranial sizes across the sample, and the hypotheses therefore predict correlated variations of cranial base flexion and petrous orientation in accordance with these increases. Statistical analyses did not yield results as predicted by the hypotheses. Thus, the propositions that base flexion and petrous reorientation are due to increases of relative endocranial sizes were not corroborated by the findings of this study, at least for the period investigated.

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“…Increased cranial base flexion relative to cranial base length and brain size is associated with increased globularity of the brain, hence of the braincase (24,35,39,40). Moreover, because the cranial base floor is the roof of the face, cranial base flexion influences facial orientation relative to the anterior cranial fossa (reviewed in ref.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution and development of cranial form in Homo sapiens

Lieberman

McBratney

Krovitz

2002

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

384

317

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Despite much data, there is no unanimity over how to define Homo sapiens in the fossil record. Here, we examine cranial variation among Pleistocene and recent human fossils by using a model of cranial growth to identify unique derived features (autapomorphies) that reliably distinguish fossils attributed to ''anatomically modern'' H. sapiens (AMHS) from those attributed to various taxa of ''archaic'' Homo spp. (AH) and to test hypotheses about the changes in cranial development that underlie the origin of modern human cranial form. In terms of pattern, AMHS crania are uniquely characterized by two general structural autapomorphies: facial retraction and neurocranial globularity. Morphometric analysis of the ontogeny of these autapomorphies indicates that the developmental changes that led to modern human cranial form derive from a combination of shifts in cranial base angle, cranial fossae length and width, and facial length. These morphological changes, some of which may have occurred because of relative size increases in the temporal and possibly the frontal lobes, occur early in ontogeny, and their effects on facial retraction and neurocranial globularity discriminate AMHS from AH crania. The existence of these autapomorphies supports the hypothesis that AMHS is a distinct species from taxa of ''archaic'' Homo (e.g., Homo neanderthalensis).

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On the Evolution of the Craniocerebral Topography in Primates*

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

Cranial growth inSaimiri sciureus (Cebidae) and its alteration by nutritional factors: A longitudinal study

Cranial growth inSaimiri sciureus (Cebidae) and its alteration by nutritional factors: A longitudinal study

Brain size and the human cranial base: A prenatal perspective

The evolution and development of cranial form in Homo sapiens

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