What's the fuss over human frontal lobe evolution?

Trends Cogn Sci. 2013 Sep;17(9):432-3. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.06.008. Epub 2013 Jun 28.

Abstract

Evolutionary neuroscientists seek to understand what makes the human neocortex special aside from its extraordinary expansion. New analyses find that the frontal lobes of humans are not relatively enlarged given our species' brain size. But are statistical cut-offs masking biologically meaningful changes in the size of the human prefrontal cortex?

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biological Evolution*
  • Cognition*
  • Frontal Lobe / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Language*
  • Species Specificity