[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/
Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

The evolution of the arcuate fasciculus revealed with comparative DTI

Abstract

The arcuate fasciculus is a white-matter fiber tract that is involved in human language. Here we compared cortical connectivity in humans, chimpanzees and macaques (Macaca mulatta) and found a prominent temporal lobe projection of the human arcuate fasciculus that is much smaller or absent in nonhuman primates. This human specialization may be relevant to the evolution of language.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Color maps of principal diffusion direction in one in vivo human, one postmortem chimpanzee and one postmortem rhesus macaque brain.
Figure 2: Three-dimensional tractography results.
Figure 3: Two-dimensional tractography results.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Geschwind, N. Science 170, 940–944 (1970).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Dejerine, J. Anatomie des Centres Nerveux (Rueff et Cie, Paris, 1895).

  3. Glasser, M.F. & Rilling, J.K. Cereb. Cortex published online, doi:10.1093/cercor/bhn011 (14 February 2008).

  4. Powell, H.W. et al. Neuroimage 32, 388–399 (2006).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Petrides, M. & Pandya, D.N. in Principles of Frontal Lobe Function (eds. Stuss, D.T. & Knight, R.T.) 31–50 (Oxford University Press, New York, 2002).

  6. Behrens, T.E., Berg, H.J., Jbabdi, S., Rushworth, M.F. & Woolrich, M.W. Neuroimage 34, 144–155 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Croxson, P.L. et al. J. Neurosci. 25, 8854–8866 (2005).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Price, C.J. J. Anat. 197, 335–359 (2000).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Sakai, K.L. Science 310, 815–819 (2005).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Rilling, J.K. & Seligman, R.A. J. Hum. Evol. 42, 505–533 (2002).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Preuss, T.M. in The Cognitive Neurosciences 3rd edn. (ed. Gazzaniga, M.S.) 5–22 (MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2004).

  12. Deacon, T. The Symbolic Species (W.W. Norton, New York, 1997).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Schoenemann, P.T., Sheehan, M.J. & Glotzer, L.D. Nat. Neurosci. 8, 242–252 (2005).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Gould, S.J. J. Soc. Issues 47, 43–65 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Johnson-Frey, S.H., Newman-Norlund, R. & Grafton, S.T. Cereb. Cortex 15, 681–695 (2005).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Q. Shen and F. Zhao for technical assistance, and M.F.S. Rushworth and M.J. Konner for many helpful comments. We also thank P. Croxson for collecting the human scans and M.-M. Carrasco for assistance with tracking control pathways. This work was supported by the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience Science and Technology Center Program of the National Science Foundation under agreement no. IBN-9876754, Emory University Research Committee, James S. McDonnell Foundation grant 21002093 to T.M.P., RO1EB002009 to X.H., the Yerkes Base Grant (NIH RR-00165) and the UK Medical Research Council to T.E.J.B.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

J.K.R. designed the study, acquired the nonhuman data, supervised analyses and wrote the paper. M.F.G. analyzed the data. T.M.P. acquired the nonhuman brains, assisted with data analysis and presentation, and wrote the paper. X.M., T.Z. and X.H. assisted with nonhuman primate protocol development, and T.E.J.B. and Oxford colleagues acquired the human data. T.E.J.B. oversaw the data-analysis strategy with the exception of the in vivo chimpanzee and macaque data presented in the supplementary information.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James K Rilling.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Text and Figures

Supplementary Figures 1–4, Table 1 and Methods (PDF 700 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Rilling, J., Glasser, M., Preuss, T. et al. The evolution of the arcuate fasciculus revealed with comparative DTI. Nat Neurosci 11, 426–428 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn2072

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn2072

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing