Evolution of Human Language Circuits Revealed With Comparative Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Bibliographic Collection:
CARTA-Inspired Publication
Publication Type: Book Chapter
Authors: Rilling, JK
Editors: Kaas, JH
Year of Publication: 2017
Book Title: Evolution of Nervous Systems
Edition: 2nd edition
Pagination: 311 - 315
Date Published: 2017
Publisher: Academic Press
City: Oxford
Publication Language: eng
ISBN Number: 978-0-12-804096-6
Keywords: Arcuate fasciculus, Brain, Chimpanzee, Comparative, DTI, Human, Language, Macaque, Neuroimaging, Tractography
Abstract:
Among primates, only humans communicate by combining thousands of symbols according to a defined set of rules to generate phrases with a nearly infinite variety of meanings. Comparative neuroimaging can be used to identify unique features of the human brain that support language. Comparative diffusion tractography shows that while nonhuman primates possess white matter connections linking the homologues of Broca's and Wernicke's areas, only humans additionally possess a very prominent and consistent projection to the cortex ventral to Wernicke's area that has displaced visual system pathways. This specialization of human brain anatomy may partially explain our capacity for language.
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