Doctoral Dissertation Research: Brain reorganization in human evolution: Connecting structural and functional changes in the inferior parietal lobe

在人类进化过程中，大脑的基本解剖结构发生了大大小小的变化。研究这种重组对于理解大脑结构和功能之间的联系以及这种关系如何影响认知和行为非常重要。该项目将研究人类和一些非人类灵长类动物中与规划和执行复杂工具制造相关的大脑区域的互联性和解剖学变化。这些发现将推进我们对人类独特行为起源和发展的科学认识，最终有助于我们对现代人类行为和文化起源的全面理解。此外，该项目将支持一名STEM科学的女研究生，向公众提供科学宣传，并可能为未来对退行性神经疾病的研究提供信息。基于化石模型和神经成像扫描的研究，大脑的顶叶区域，特别是下顶叶（IPL），在人类谱系中经历了重组。IPL特别积极地观察、规划和执行工具的使用和熟练的工具制造。该计划将整合IPL显微解剖学的组织学分析，以及基于神经成像的IPL与其他脑区之间功能和连通性的研究，以研究重组。这些方法将在灵长类物种和人类样本中一致应用，以解决人类进化中IPL的重组问题。这种综合方法将揭示人类和非人类灵长类动物的IPL解剖结构，并将展示IPL如何在大规模功能网络中运作。这项研究将在比较和进化的框架内提供对人类大脑进化中特定变化的详细调查，并有助于回答有关人类独特行为起源的问题，例如复杂的工具制造和符号行为。因此，研究古人类谱系中大脑重组的模式最终有助于我们对人类行为和文化起源的全面理解。

During human evolution there have been large- and small-scale changes in underlying anatomical structures of the brain. Studying this reorganization is important for understanding the link between structure and function in the brain, and how this relationship may affect cognition and behavior. This project will look at changes in the interconnectedness and anatomy of a region of the brain related to planning and carrying out complex tool making, in humans and a number of non-human primate species. The findings will advance our scientific knowledge about how distinctive human behaviors originated and developed, ultimately contributing to our overall understanding of the origins of modern human behavior and culture. In addition, the project will support a female graduate student in the STEM sciences, provide science outreach to the public, and potentially inform future research on degenerative neurological diseases.The parietal region of the brain, particularly the inferior parietal lobe (IPL), experienced reorganization in the human lineage based on studies of fossil endocasts and neuroimaging scans. The IPL is particularly active in observing, planning and executing tool-use and skilled tool-making. The proposed project will integrate histological analyses of IPL microanatomy and a neuroimaging-based study of function and connectivity between the IPL and other brain regions to investigate reorganization. These methods will be applied consistently across a sample of primate species and humans to address reorganization of the IPL in human evolution. Such an integrative approach will reveal the anatomy of the human and non-human primate IPL and will show how the IPL operates within large-scale functional networks. This study will provide a detailed investigation of human-specific changes in brain evolution within a comparative and evolutionary framework, and can aid in answering questions about the origins of distinctive human behaviors, such as complex tool-making and symbolic behaviors. Thus, studying patterns of brain reorganization in the hominin lineage ultimately contributes to our overall understanding of the origins of human behavior and culture.