Abstract

Several recent microarray studies have compared gene-expression patterns n humans, chimpanzees and other non-human primates to identify evolutionary changes that contribute to the distinctive cognitive and behavioural characteristics of humans. These studies support the surprising conclusion that the evolution of the human brain involved an upregulation of gene expression relative to non-human primates, a finding that could be relevant to understanding human cerebral physiology and function. These results show how genetic and genomic methods can shed light on the basis of human neural and cognitive specializations, and have important implications for neuroscience, anthropology and medicine.

Author affiliations

1. Division of Neuroscience and Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, 954 Gatewood Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30329, USA.
2. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, 1364 Clifton Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
3. Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, 615 Michael Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
4. Department of Neurology and Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Neuropsychiatric Institute, UCLA School of Medicine, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.

Correspondence to: Todd M. Preuss^1,2 Email: tpreuss@rmy.emory.edu

Correspondence to: Daniel H. Geschwind⁴ Email: dhg@ucla.edu

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