The activity of neuronal circuits of the neocortex underlies our ability to perceive the world and interact with our environment. During development, these circuits emerge from dynamic interactions ...

In a recent study published in Science, researchers demonstrated how transketolase-like 1 (TKTL1) gene expression influenced neocortical neurogenesis in modern humans. Study: Human TKTL1 implies ...

The question of what makes modern humans unique has long been a driving force for researchers. Comparisons with our closest relatives, the Neandertals, therefore provide fascinating insights. The ...

To build the neocortex, a brain area involved in higher cognitive functions, stem cells produce billions of neurons of various types. In a Science study, neuroscientists from Switzerland, Belgium, and ...

ARHGAP11B -- this complex name is given to a gene that is unique to humans and plays an essential role in the development of the neocortex. The neocortex is the part of the brain to which we owe our ...

A single difference in a protein called TKTL1 may have given modern humans a significant advantage over Neanderthals. Scientists have shown that the human TKTL1 variant, but not the archaic variant, ...

A human-specific gene causes a larger neocortex in the common marmoset, a non-human primate. A human-specific gene causes a larger neocortex in the common marmoset, a non-human primate. The expansion ...

Researchers from Dresden uncover a greater neuron production in the frontal lobe during brain development in modern humans than Neandertals, due to the change of a single amino acid in the protein ...

Scientists introduced a human gene, ARHGAP11B, into monkey fetuses. The gene caused an increase in the size of the monkey brains, including folding similar to that of human brains. The study poses ...