Brain Growth in Humans and Chimps
August 12th 2011 22:07
Although baby humans and baby chimpanzees both start out with undeveloped forebrains, a new study reports that the human brain increases in volume much more rapidly early on.
The growth is in a region of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex and is part of what makes humans cognitively advanced compared with other animals, including the chimpanzee, our closest relative. The prefrontal cortex plays a major role in decision-making, self-awareness and creative thinking. Tetsuro Matsuzawa, a zoologist at Kyoto University in Japan, and his colleagues performed magnetic resonance imaging scans on three young chimpanzees over about six years, starting when the chimps were 6 months old. The researchers compared these scans with M.R.I. scans taken of human infants and children. They found that the white matter in the prefrontal cortex of chimpanzees does not grow as rapidly as it does in humans.
Their findings appear in the journal Current Biology. That the brains of both animals undergo significant growth indicates that brain development in both is shaped by life experience. This may be why human babies and chimp babies share some similarities — like the impulse to smile at caregivers.
But the rapid development of the prefrontal cortex in humans may contribute to superior skills in communication and social interaction.
Dr. Matsuzawa and his colleagues hope to track how human and chimpanzee brains differ as each animal enters young adulthood. The team plans to continue its study of the three chimpanzees it observed, which are now 11 years old.
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