From fossils to mind

Alexandra A. de Sousa; Amélie Beaudet; Tanya Calvey; Ameline Bardo; Julien Benoit; Christine J. Charvet; Colette Dehay; Aida Gómez-Robles; Philipp Gunz; Katja Heuer; Martijn P. van den Heuvel; Shawn Hurst; Pascaline Lauters; Denné Reed; Mathilde Salagnon; Chet C. Sherwood; Felix Ströckens; Mirriam Tawane; Orlin S. Todorov; Roberto Toro; Yongbin Wei

doi:10.1038/s42003-023-04803-4

From fossils to mind

Alexandra A. de Sousa^*, Amélie Beaudet^*, Tanya Calvey^*, Ameline Bardo, Julien Benoit, Christine J. Charvet, Colette Dehay, Aida Gómez-Robles, Philipp Gunz, Katja Heuer, Martijn P. van den Heuvel, Shawn Hurst, Pascaline Lauters, Denné Reed, Mathilde Salagnon, Chet C. Sherwood, Felix Ströckens, Mirriam Tawane, Orlin S. Todorov, Roberto ToroYongbin Wei

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Review article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Fossil endocasts record features of brains from the past: size, shape, vasculature, and gyrification. These data, alongside experimental and comparative evidence, are needed to resolve questions about brain energetics, cognitive specializations, and developmental plasticity. Through the application of interdisciplinary techniques to the fossil record, paleoneurology has been leading major innovations. Neuroimaging is shedding light on fossil brain organization and behaviors. Inferences about the development and physiology of the brains of extinct species can be experimentally investigated through brain organoids and transgenic models based on ancient DNA. Phylogenetic comparative methods integrate data across species and associate genotypes to phenotypes, and brains to behaviors. Meanwhile, fossil and archeological discoveries continuously contribute new knowledge. Through cooperation, the scientific community can accelerate knowledge acquisition. Sharing digitized museum collections improves the availability of rare fossils and artifacts. Comparative neuroanatomical data are available through online databases, along with tools for their measurement and analysis. In the context of these advances, the paleoneurological record provides ample opportunity for future research. Biomedical and ecological sciences can benefit from paleoneurology’s approach to understanding the mind as well as its novel research pipelines that establish connections between neuroanatomy, genes and behavior.

Original language	English
Article number	636
Pages (from-to)	1-21
Number of pages	21
Journal	Communications biology
Volume	6
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04803-4
Publication status	Published - 13 Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
A.Ba. was funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant number: ANR-20-CE27-0009-01). A.Be. was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Research Development Grants for Y-Rated Researchers (grant number 129336) and the South Africa/France (PROTEA) Joint Research Programme (grant number 129923). C.C.S. was funded by NSF (EF-2021785, DRL-2219759) and NIH (NS092988, AG067419, HG011641). C.J.C. was funded by NIGMS COBRE (grant number 5P20GM103653). J.B. was funded by the NRF African Origins Platform. K.H. and R.T. were supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche, projects NeuroWebLab (ANR-19-DATA-0025) and DMOBE (ANR-21-CE45-0016). K.H. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No101033485 (Individual Fellowship). O.S.T was funded by a Discovery Project Award (project number: DP210101324) funded by the Australian Government. P.G. was funded by the Max Planck Society (grant number M.IF.A.XXXX8103). The opinions of the article do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH.

Funding Information:
We acknowledge all participants of the “From Fossils to Mind” Workshop 2021 (Box 3) for their enlightening presentations and discussions, which led to the writing of this review. We are grateful to our hosts, the Southern African Neuroscience Society, and sponsors, without whom this collaboration would not have been possible: Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, now Genus, the Palaeontological Scientific Trust, the French Institute of South Africa, and the Global Academy for Liberal Arts. We would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of our manuscript and insightful suggestions, which greatly improved the manuscript. A.Ba. was funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant number: ANR-20-CE27-0009-01). A.Be. was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Research Development Grants for Y-Rated Researchers (grant number 129336) and the South Africa/France (PROTEA) Joint Research Programme (grant number 129923). C.C.S. was funded by NSF (EF-2021785, DRL-2219759) and NIH (NS092988, AG067419, HG011641). C.J.C. was funded by NIGMS COBRE (grant number 5P20GM103653). J.B. was funded by the NRF African Origins Platform. K.H. and R.T. were supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche, projects NeuroWebLab (ANR-19-DATA-0025) and DMOBE (ANR-21-CE45-0016). K.H. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No101033485 (Individual Fellowship). O.S.T was funded by a Discovery Project Award (project number: DP210101324) funded by the Australian Government. P.G. was funded by the Max Planck Society (grant number M.IF.A.XXXX8103). The opinions of the article do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).

Funding

A.Ba. was funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant number: ANR-20-CE27-0009-01). A.Be. was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Research Development Grants for Y-Rated Researchers (grant number 129336) and the South Africa/France (PROTEA) Joint Research Programme (grant number 129923). C.C.S. was funded by NSF (EF-2021785, DRL-2219759) and NIH (NS092988, AG067419, HG011641). C.J.C. was funded by NIGMS COBRE (grant number 5P20GM103653). J.B. was funded by the NRF African Origins Platform. K.H. and R.T. were supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche, projects NeuroWebLab (ANR-19-DATA-0025) and DMOBE (ANR-21-CE45-0016). K.H. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No101033485 (Individual Fellowship). O.S.T was funded by a Discovery Project Award (project number: DP210101324) funded by the Australian Government. P.G. was funded by the Max Planck Society (grant number M.IF.A.XXXX8103). The opinions of the article do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH. We acknowledge all participants of the “From Fossils to Mind” Workshop 2021 (Box 3) for their enlightening presentations and discussions, which led to the writing of this review. We are grateful to our hosts, the Southern African Neuroscience Society, and sponsors, without whom this collaboration would not have been possible: Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, now Genus, the Palaeontological Scientific Trust, the French Institute of South Africa, and the Global Academy for Liberal Arts. We would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of our manuscript and insightful suggestions, which greatly improved the manuscript. A.Ba. was funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant number: ANR-20-CE27-0009-01). A.Be. was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Research Development Grants for Y-Rated Researchers (grant number 129336) and the South Africa/France (PROTEA) Joint Research Programme (grant number 129923). C.C.S. was funded by NSF (EF-2021785, DRL-2219759) and NIH (NS092988, AG067419, HG011641). C.J.C. was funded by NIGMS COBRE (grant number 5P20GM103653). J.B. was funded by the NRF African Origins Platform. K.H. and R.T. were supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche, projects NeuroWebLab (ANR-19-DATA-0025) and DMOBE (ANR-21-CE45-0016). K.H. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No101033485 (Individual Fellowship). O.S.T was funded by a Discovery Project Award (project number: DP210101324) funded by the Australian Government. P.G. was funded by the Max Planck Society (grant number M.IF.A.XXXX8103). The opinions of the article do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH.

Funders	Funder number
DMOBE	ANR-21-CE45-0016
Global Academy for Liberal Arts
NIGMS COBRE	5P20GM103653
South Africa/France	129923
Southern African Neuroscience Society
National Institutes of Health	NS092988, AG067419, HG011641
Neurosciences Research Foundation
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions	DP210101324
Australian Government
PAST
National Research Foundation	129336
Agence Nationale de la Recherche	ANR-19-DATA-0025, ANR-20-CE27-0009-01
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft	M.IF.A.XXXX8103
Neurosciences Foundation	EF-2021785, DRL-2219759
Institut français d'Afrique du Sud

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de Sousa, A. A., Beaudet, A., Calvey, T., Bardo, A., Benoit, J., Charvet, C. J., Dehay, C., Gómez-Robles, A., Gunz, P., Heuer, K., van den Heuvel, M. P., Hurst, S., Lauters, P., Reed, D., Salagnon, M., Sherwood, C. C., Ströckens, F., Tawane, M., Todorov, O. S., ... Wei, Y. (2023). From fossils to mind. Communications biology, 6(1), 1-21. Article 636. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04803-4

@article{debf3f50ab3949a5b07fb845bfb43786,

title = "From fossils to mind",

abstract = "Fossil endocasts record features of brains from the past: size, shape, vasculature, and gyrification. These data, alongside experimental and comparative evidence, are needed to resolve questions about brain energetics, cognitive specializations, and developmental plasticity. Through the application of interdisciplinary techniques to the fossil record, paleoneurology has been leading major innovations. Neuroimaging is shedding light on fossil brain organization and behaviors. Inferences about the development and physiology of the brains of extinct species can be experimentally investigated through brain organoids and transgenic models based on ancient DNA. Phylogenetic comparative methods integrate data across species and associate genotypes to phenotypes, and brains to behaviors. Meanwhile, fossil and archeological discoveries continuously contribute new knowledge. Through cooperation, the scientific community can accelerate knowledge acquisition. Sharing digitized museum collections improves the availability of rare fossils and artifacts. Comparative neuroanatomical data are available through online databases, along with tools for their measurement and analysis. In the context of these advances, the paleoneurological record provides ample opportunity for future research. Biomedical and ecological sciences can benefit from paleoneurology{\textquoteright}s approach to understanding the mind as well as its novel research pipelines that establish connections between neuroanatomy, genes and behavior.",

author = "{de Sousa}, {Alexandra A.} and Am{\'e}lie Beaudet and Tanya Calvey and Ameline Bardo and Julien Benoit and Charvet, {Christine J.} and Colette Dehay and Aida G{\'o}mez-Robles and Philipp Gunz and Katja Heuer and {van den Heuvel}, {Martijn P.} and Shawn Hurst and Pascaline Lauters and Denn{\'e} Reed and Mathilde Salagnon and Sherwood, {Chet C.} and Felix Str{\"o}ckens and Mirriam Tawane and Todorov, {Orlin S.} and Roberto Toro and Yongbin Wei",

note = "Funding Information: A.Ba. was funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant number: ANR-20-CE27-0009-01). A.Be. was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Research Development Grants for Y-Rated Researchers (grant number 129336) and the South Africa/France (PROTEA) Joint Research Programme (grant number 129923). C.C.S. was funded by NSF (EF-2021785, DRL-2219759) and NIH (NS092988, AG067419, HG011641). C.J.C. was funded by NIGMS COBRE (grant number 5P20GM103653). J.B. was funded by the NRF African Origins Platform. K.H. and R.T. were supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche, projects NeuroWebLab (ANR-19-DATA-0025) and DMOBE (ANR-21-CE45-0016). K.H. has received funding from the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk{\l}odowska-Curie grant agreement No101033485 (Individual Fellowship). O.S.T was funded by a Discovery Project Award (project number: DP210101324) funded by the Australian Government. P.G. was funded by the Max Planck Society (grant number M.IF.A.XXXX8103). The opinions of the article do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH. Funding Information: We acknowledge all participants of the “From Fossils to Mind” Workshop 2021 (Box 3) for their enlightening presentations and discussions, which led to the writing of this review. We are grateful to our hosts, the Southern African Neuroscience Society, and sponsors, without whom this collaboration would not have been possible: Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, now Genus, the Palaeontological Scientific Trust, the French Institute of South Africa, and the Global Academy for Liberal Arts. We would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of our manuscript and insightful suggestions, which greatly improved the manuscript. A.Ba. was funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant number: ANR-20-CE27-0009-01). A.Be. was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Research Development Grants for Y-Rated Researchers (grant number 129336) and the South Africa/France (PROTEA) Joint Research Programme (grant number 129923). C.C.S. was funded by NSF (EF-2021785, DRL-2219759) and NIH (NS092988, AG067419, HG011641). C.J.C. was funded by NIGMS COBRE (grant number 5P20GM103653). J.B. was funded by the NRF African Origins Platform. K.H. and R.T. were supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche, projects NeuroWebLab (ANR-19-DATA-0025) and DMOBE (ANR-21-CE45-0016). K.H. has received funding from the European Union{\textquoteright}s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk{\l}odowska-Curie grant agreement No101033485 (Individual Fellowship). O.S.T was funded by a Discovery Project Award (project number: DP210101324) funded by the Australian Government. P.G. was funded by the Max Planck Society (grant number M.IF.A.XXXX8103). The opinions of the article do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023, The Author(s).",

year = "2023",

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doi = "10.1038/s42003-023-04803-4",

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de Sousa, AA, Beaudet, A, Calvey, T, Bardo, A, Benoit, J, Charvet, CJ, Dehay, C, Gómez-Robles, A, Gunz, P, Heuer, K, van den Heuvel, MP, Hurst, S, Lauters, P, Reed, D, Salagnon, M, Sherwood, CC, Ströckens, F, Tawane, M, Todorov, OS, Toro, R & Wei, Y 2023, 'From fossils to mind', Communications biology, vol. 6, no. 1, 636, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04803-4

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AU - de Sousa, Alexandra A.

AU - Beaudet, Amélie

AU - Calvey, Tanya

AU - Bardo, Ameline

AU - Benoit, Julien

AU - Charvet, Christine J.

AU - Dehay, Colette

AU - Gómez-Robles, Aida

AU - Gunz, Philipp

AU - Heuer, Katja

AU - van den Heuvel, Martijn P.

AU - Hurst, Shawn

AU - Lauters, Pascaline

AU - Reed, Denné

AU - Salagnon, Mathilde

AU - Sherwood, Chet C.

AU - Ströckens, Felix

AU - Tawane, Mirriam

AU - Todorov, Orlin S.

AU - Toro, Roberto

AU - Wei, Yongbin

N1 - Funding Information: A.Ba. was funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant number: ANR-20-CE27-0009-01). A.Be. was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Research Development Grants for Y-Rated Researchers (grant number 129336) and the South Africa/France (PROTEA) Joint Research Programme (grant number 129923). C.C.S. was funded by NSF (EF-2021785, DRL-2219759) and NIH (NS092988, AG067419, HG011641). C.J.C. was funded by NIGMS COBRE (grant number 5P20GM103653). J.B. was funded by the NRF African Origins Platform. K.H. and R.T. were supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche, projects NeuroWebLab (ANR-19-DATA-0025) and DMOBE (ANR-21-CE45-0016). K.H. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No101033485 (Individual Fellowship). O.S.T was funded by a Discovery Project Award (project number: DP210101324) funded by the Australian Government. P.G. was funded by the Max Planck Society (grant number M.IF.A.XXXX8103). The opinions of the article do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH. Funding Information: We acknowledge all participants of the “From Fossils to Mind” Workshop 2021 (Box 3) for their enlightening presentations and discussions, which led to the writing of this review. We are grateful to our hosts, the Southern African Neuroscience Society, and sponsors, without whom this collaboration would not have been possible: Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, now Genus, the Palaeontological Scientific Trust, the French Institute of South Africa, and the Global Academy for Liberal Arts. We would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of our manuscript and insightful suggestions, which greatly improved the manuscript. A.Ba. was funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant number: ANR-20-CE27-0009-01). A.Be. was funded by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Research Development Grants for Y-Rated Researchers (grant number 129336) and the South Africa/France (PROTEA) Joint Research Programme (grant number 129923). C.C.S. was funded by NSF (EF-2021785, DRL-2219759) and NIH (NS092988, AG067419, HG011641). C.J.C. was funded by NIGMS COBRE (grant number 5P20GM103653). J.B. was funded by the NRF African Origins Platform. K.H. and R.T. were supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche, projects NeuroWebLab (ANR-19-DATA-0025) and DMOBE (ANR-21-CE45-0016). K.H. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No101033485 (Individual Fellowship). O.S.T was funded by a Discovery Project Award (project number: DP210101324) funded by the Australian Government. P.G. was funded by the Max Planck Society (grant number M.IF.A.XXXX8103). The opinions of the article do not necessarily represent the views of the NIH. Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s).

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Y1 - 2023/6/13

N2 - Fossil endocasts record features of brains from the past: size, shape, vasculature, and gyrification. These data, alongside experimental and comparative evidence, are needed to resolve questions about brain energetics, cognitive specializations, and developmental plasticity. Through the application of interdisciplinary techniques to the fossil record, paleoneurology has been leading major innovations. Neuroimaging is shedding light on fossil brain organization and behaviors. Inferences about the development and physiology of the brains of extinct species can be experimentally investigated through brain organoids and transgenic models based on ancient DNA. Phylogenetic comparative methods integrate data across species and associate genotypes to phenotypes, and brains to behaviors. Meanwhile, fossil and archeological discoveries continuously contribute new knowledge. Through cooperation, the scientific community can accelerate knowledge acquisition. Sharing digitized museum collections improves the availability of rare fossils and artifacts. Comparative neuroanatomical data are available through online databases, along with tools for their measurement and analysis. In the context of these advances, the paleoneurological record provides ample opportunity for future research. Biomedical and ecological sciences can benefit from paleoneurology’s approach to understanding the mind as well as its novel research pipelines that establish connections between neuroanatomy, genes and behavior.

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From fossils to mind

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