Collaborative Research: Cranial Base Development in Primates

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This project will address questions about primate and human biology using cutting-edge visualization techniques to map the cellular processes involved in growth and development of cranial cartilage and bone across a wide range of primates. Findings from this project will advance knowledge about the ways in which cranial growth determines overall skull shape, which is important for understanding primate adaptations and life history through time. The project will support research infrastructure and training of young scientists, and may inform clinical research and treatments for children with cranial malformations.This study relates differences in cranial base structure (including degree of basicranial flexion and facial orientation) to direct evidence of growth processes. Nine primate species are studied using a novel combination of micro-computed tomography and histological procedures to create 3D virtual reconstructions of the developing skull. Growth patterns in cranial base synchondroses are quantified using linear and cross-sectional area measurements of cartilaginous zones. Cranial shape in perinatal and older subadults is described using volumetric, angular, and landmark-based morphometric data. A combination of descriptive and inferential statistics are applied to address four specific aims: 1) describe the structure of the perinatal cranial base in a comparative sample of primates; 2) document evidence of cellular and tissue-level mechanisms contributing to growth; 3) test for a phylogenetic effect in perinatal cranial base structure; and 4) test the association of cranial base growth patterns with cranial base angle and facial orientation in the perinatal period and in the adult. This project is the first to assess early postnatal synchondroseal patency or fusion in a broad range of primates and advance understanding of growth characteristics of bone and cartilage by directly observing indicators of chondrocyte proliferation and hypertrophy, two drivers of interstitial growth.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.