TY - JOUR
T1 - New human-specific brain landmark
T2 - The depth asymmetry of superior temporal sulcus
AU - Leroy, François
AU - Cai, Qing
AU - Bogart, Stephanie L.
AU - Dubois, Jessica
AU - Coulon, Olivier
AU - Monzalvo, Karla
AU - Fischer, Clara
AU - Glasel, Hervé
AU - Van Der Haegen, Lise
AU - Bénézit, Audrey
AU - Lin, Ching Po
AU - Kennedy, David N.
AU - Ihara, Aya S.
AU - Hertz-Pannier, Lucie
AU - Moutard, Marie Laure
AU - Poupon, Cyril
AU - Brysbaert, Marc
AU - Roberts, Neil
AU - Hopkins, William D.
AU - Mangin, Jean François
AU - Dehaene-Lambertz, Ghislaine
PY - 2015/1/27
Y1 - 2015/1/27
N2 - Identifying potentially unique features of the human cerebral cortex is a first step to understanding how evolution has shaped the brain in our species. By analyzing MR images obtained from 177 humans and 73 chimpanzees, we observed a human-specific asymmetry in the superior temporal sulcus at the heart of the communication regions and which we have named the "superior temporal asymmetrical pit" (STAP). This 45-mm-long segment ventral to Heschl's gyrus is deeper in the right hemisphere than in the left in 95% of typical human subjects, from infanthood till adulthood, and is present, irrespective of handedness, language lateralization, and sex although it is greater in males than in females. The STAP also is seen in several groups of atypical subjects including persons with situs inversus, autistic spectrum disorder, Turner syndrome, and corpus callosum agenesis. It is explained in part by the larger number of sulcal interruptions in the left than in the right hemisphere. Its early presence in the infants of this study as well as in fetuses and premature infants suggests a strong genetic influence. Because this asymmetry is barely visible in chimpanzees, we recommend the STAP region during midgestation as an important phenotype to investigate asymmetrical variations of gene expression among the primate lineage. This genetic target may provide important insights regarding the evolution of the crucial cognitive abilities sustained by this sulcus in our species, namely communication and social cognition.
AB - Identifying potentially unique features of the human cerebral cortex is a first step to understanding how evolution has shaped the brain in our species. By analyzing MR images obtained from 177 humans and 73 chimpanzees, we observed a human-specific asymmetry in the superior temporal sulcus at the heart of the communication regions and which we have named the "superior temporal asymmetrical pit" (STAP). This 45-mm-long segment ventral to Heschl's gyrus is deeper in the right hemisphere than in the left in 95% of typical human subjects, from infanthood till adulthood, and is present, irrespective of handedness, language lateralization, and sex although it is greater in males than in females. The STAP also is seen in several groups of atypical subjects including persons with situs inversus, autistic spectrum disorder, Turner syndrome, and corpus callosum agenesis. It is explained in part by the larger number of sulcal interruptions in the left than in the right hemisphere. Its early presence in the infants of this study as well as in fetuses and premature infants suggests a strong genetic influence. Because this asymmetry is barely visible in chimpanzees, we recommend the STAP region during midgestation as an important phenotype to investigate asymmetrical variations of gene expression among the primate lineage. This genetic target may provide important insights regarding the evolution of the crucial cognitive abilities sustained by this sulcus in our species, namely communication and social cognition.
KW - Anatomy
KW - Asymmetry
KW - Brain
KW - Human-specific
KW - STS
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84921814740&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84921814740&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1412389112
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1412389112
M3 - Article
C2 - 25583500
AN - SCOPUS:84921814740
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 112
SP - 1208
EP - 1213
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 4
ER -