or groups descending from a common ancestor, the average brain size increased gradually over three million years. Looking more closely, the increase was driven by three different factors, primarily evolution of larger brain sizes within individual species populations, but also by the addition of new,...
Human evolution was marked by an extraordinary increase in total brain size relative to body size. While it is certain that increased encephalization is an important factor contributing to the origin of our species-specific cognitive abilities, it is difficult to disentangle which aspects of human ...
The increase of brain size relative to body size—encephalization—is intimately linked with human evolution. However, two genetically different evolutionary lineages, Neanderthals and modern humans, have produced similarly large-brained human species. T
The placenta in the 'soil,' which supplies the 'tree' of the brain with serotonin, helping the brain to grow. Credit: Lei Xing et al., Neuron 2020 / MPI-CBG During human evolution, the size of the brain increased, especially in a particular part called the neocortex. The neocortex enab...
of humans’ greater brain size and reproductive output. Much of the increase in TEE is attributable to humans’ greater basal metabolic rate (kcal day−1), indicating increased organ metabolic activity. Humans also had the greatest body fat percentage. An increased metabolic rate, along with cha...
The increase of brain size relative to body size-encephalization-is intimately linked with evolution. However, two genetically different evolutionary lineages, Neanderthals and modern , have produced similarly large-brained species. Thus, understanding brain evolution should include research into specific ce...
A dramatic increase in brain size is one of the hallmarks of human evolution, but despite the significance of this trait, the causal molecular mechanism underlying this expansion is unclear [1]. Until recently, addressing this question with genetic tools has been difficult because the dramatically ...
Using this novel data set, we conducted a genome-wide analysis of orthologous brain-expressed protein coding genes to identify evidence of conserved gene–phenotype associations and species-specific adaptations during three independent episodes of brain size increase. We identify a greater number of ...
gorillas and orangutans by approximately 400, 635 and 820 kcal day−1, respectively, readily accommodating the cost of humans' greater brain size and reproductive output. Much of the increase in TEE is attributable to humans' greater basal metabolic rate (kcal day−1), indicating increased org...
cranial capacity of members of the human lineageThe increase in hominin cranial capacity over time. Because more completefossilheads than hands are available, it is easier to model increasedbrainsize in parallel with the rich record ofartifactsfrom thePaleolithic Period(c.3.3 million to 10,000 year...