Evolutionary shaping of human brain dynamics

James C. Pang; James K. Rilling; James A. Roberts; Martijn P. van den Heuvel; Luca Cocchi

doi:10.7554/eLife.80627

Evolutionary shaping of human brain dynamics

James C. Pang, James K. Rilling, James A. Roberts, Martijn P. van den Heuvel, Luca Cocchi

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

The human brain is distinct from those of other species in terms of size, organization, and connectivity. How do structural evolutionary differences drive patterns of neural activity enabling brain function? Here, we combine brain imaging and biophysical modeling to show that the anatomical wiring of the human brain distinctly shapes neural dynamics. This shaping is characterized by a narrower distribution of dynamic ranges across brain regions compared with that of chimpanzees, our closest living primate relatives. We find that such a narrow dynamic range distribution supports faster integration between regions, particularly in transmodal systems. Conversely, a broad dynamic range distribution as seen in chimpanzees facilitates brain processes relying more on neural interactions within specialized local brain systems. These findings suggest that human brain dynamics have evolved to foster rapid associative processes in service of complex cognitive functions and behavior.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-26
Number of pages	26
Journal	eLife
Volume	11
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.80627
Publication status	Published - 26 Oct 2022

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, Pang et al.

Funding

We thank John Murray, Alex Fornito, and Luke Hearne for valuable scientific discussions. Human HCP data used for replication of results were provided by the Human Connectome Project, Wu-Minn Consortium (Principal Investigators: David Van Essen and Kamil Ugurbil; 1U54MH091657) funded by the 16 NIH Institutes and Centers that support the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, and by the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University. This work was supported by National Health and Medical Research Council grants 11144936 and 1145168 to J.A.R, Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research grants ALWOP.179, VIDI (452-16-015), and European Research Council Consolidator grant 101001062 to M.P.V.D.H., and National Health and Medical Research Council grants 1138711 and 2001283 to L.C. Funded by the 16 NIH Institutes and Centers that support the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, and by the McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University. This work was supported by National Health and Medical Research Council grants 11144936, 1145168 to J.A.R, ALWOP.179, VIDI (452-16-015), 101001062 to M.P.V.D.H., 1138711 and 2001283 to L.C. .

Funders	Funder number
McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience at Washington University
National Institutes of Health
National Institute of Mental Health	U54MH091657
NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research
McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience
European Research Council	1138711, 2001283, 101001062
National Health and Medical Research Council	11144936, 1145168
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek	ALWOP.179, 452-16-015

Keywords

brain dynamics
chimpanzee
computational modeling
connectome
evolution
human
neuroscience

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Evolutionary shaping of human brain dynamics

Abstract

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