High Risk Exploratory Research: Exploring 3D-CT and Geometric Morphometric Analyses of Cortical Surfaces in Fossil Hominids

我们早期祖先的头骨内部模型显示了他们大脑的体积和形状，并重现了他们一生中在脑壳壁上留下的大脑皮层特征。这些特征包括卷积、脑沟模式和血管，这些特征有时与人类的语言和惯用右手等已知功能相关。因此，内模对于解决有关某些行为起源的问题是有用的。目前，一个国际团队正在对重要的更新世古人类化石的头骨进行CT扫描，由此产生的三维CT数据可用于从计算机屏幕上生成和测量颅内表面的图像。为了验证使用3D-CT来研究脑表面形态，将从3D-CT图像和相应的几个关键古人类头骨的传统模型中获得一组测量值并进行比较。此外，三维几何方法的应用分析铸模将探讨在猿和人类头骨系列。一旦得到验证，这些方法可以应用于新的标本，从而进一步了解大脑进化。

Casts of the interiors of skulls (endocasts) of our early ancestors indicate the volume and shape of their brains, and reproduce features of the cerebral cortex that were imprinted on the walls of their braincases during life. These features include convolutions, sulcal patterns, and blood vessels, which are sometimes correlated with known functions such as speech and right-handedness in living people. Endocasts are therefore useful for addressing questions about the origins of certain behaviors. Skulls of important Pleistocene fossil hominids are currently being CAT-scanned by an international team, and the resulting three dimensional (3D) CT data are available for generating and measuring images of endocranial surfaces from a computer screen. In order to validate use of 3D-CT to investigate brain surface morphology, a set of measurements will be obtained and compared from 3D-CT images and the corresponding traditional endocasts of several key hominid skulls. Additionally, the application of 3D geometrical methods for analyzing endocasts will be explored in an ape and human skull series. Once validated, these methods can be applied to new specimens, leading to further insights about brain evolution.