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Manrique HM, Read DW, Walker MJ. On some statistical and cerebral aspects of the limits of working memory capacity in anthropoid primates, with particular reference to Pan and Homo, and their significance for human evolution. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 158:105543. [PMID: 38220036 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Revised: 12/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 01/16/2024]
Abstract
Some comparative ontogenetic data imply that effective working-memory capacity develops in ways that are independent of brain size in humans. These are interpreted better from neuroscientific considerations about the continuing development of neuronal architecture in adolescents and young adults, than from one about gross brain mass which already is reached in childhood. By contrast, working-memory capacity in Pan never develops beyond that of three- or four-year-old children. The phylogenetic divergence begs the question of whether it is any longer plausible to infer from the fossil record, that over the past two million years, an ostensibly gradual increase in endocranial volumes, assigned to the genus Homo, can be correlated in a scientifically-meaningful manner with the gradual evolution of our effective executive working memory. It is argued that whereas Pan's effective working-memory capacity is relatively similar to that of its storage working-memory, our working memory is relatively larger with deeper executive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Héctor M Manrique
- Department of Psychology and Sociology, Universidad de Zaragoza, Campus Universitario de Teruel, Ciudad Escolar, s/n. 44003 Teruel, Spain.
| | - Dwight W Read
- Department of Anthropology and Department of Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
| | - Michael J Walker
- Department of Zoology and Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
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Elmers J, Colzato LS, Akgün K, Ziemssen T, Beste C. Neurofilaments - Small proteins of physiological significance and predictive power for future neurodegeneration and cognitive decline across the life span. Ageing Res Rev 2023; 90:102037. [PMID: 37619618 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2023.102037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Neurofilaments (NFs) are not only important for axonal integrity and nerve conduction in large myelinated axons but they are also thought to be crucial for receptor and synaptic functioning. Therefore, NFs may play a critical role in cognitive functions, as cognitive processes are known to depend on synaptic integrity and are modulated by dopaminergic signaling. Here, we present a theory-driven interdisciplinary approach that NFs may link inflammation, neurodegeneration, and cognitive functions. We base our hypothesis on a wealth of evidence suggesting a causal link between inflammation and neurodegeneration and between these two and cognitive decline (see Fig. 1), also taking dopaminergic signaling into account. We conclude that NFs may not only serve as biomarkers for inflammatory, neurodegenerative, and cognitive processes but also represent a potential mechanical hinge between them, moreover, they may even have predictive power regarding future cognitive decline. In addition, we advocate the use of both NFs and MRI parameters, as their synthesis offers the opportunity to individualize medical treatment by providing a comprehensive view of underlying disease activity in neurological diseases. Since our society will become significantly older in the upcoming years and decades, maintaining cognitive functions and healthy aging will play an important role. Thanks to technological advances in recent decades, NFs could serve as a rapid, noninvasive, and relatively inexpensive early warning system to identify individuals at increased risk for cognitive decline and could facilitate the management of cognitive dysfunctions across the lifespan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Elmers
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany; Center of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Lorenza S Colzato
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany; Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.
| | - Katja Akgün
- Center of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Tjalf Ziemssen
- Center of Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Christian Beste
- Cognitive Neurophysiology, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany; Cognitive Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China.
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Bartha-Doering L, Kollndorfer K, Schwartz E, Fischmeister FP, Langs G, Weber M, Lackner-Schmelz S, Kienast P, Stümpflen M, Taymourtash A, Mandl S, Alexopoulos J, Prayer D, Seidl R, Kasprian G. Fetal temporal sulcus depth asymmetry has prognostic value for language development. Commun Biol 2023; 6:109. [PMID: 36707693 PMCID: PMC9883513 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04503-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
In most humans, the superior temporal sulcus (STS) shows a rightward depth asymmetry. This asymmetry can not only be observed in adults, but is already recognizable in the fetal brain. As the STS lies adjacent to brain areas important for language, STS depth asymmetry may represent an anatomical marker for language abilities. This study investigated the prognostic value of STS depth asymmetry in healthy fetuses for later language abilities, language localization, and language-related white matter tracts. Less right lateralization of the fetal STS depth was significantly associated with better verbal abilities, with fetal STS depth asymmetry explaining more than 40% of variance in verbal skills 6-13 years later. Furthermore, less right fetal STS depth asymmetry correlated with increased left language localization during childhood. We hypothesize that earlier and/or more localized fetal development of the left temporal cortex is accompanied by an earlier development of the left STS and is favorable for early language learning. If the findings of this pilot study hold true in larger samples of healthy children and in different clinical populations, fetal STS asymmetry has the potential to become a diagnostic biomarker of the maturity and integrity of neural correlates of language.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Bartha-Doering
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Kathrin Kollndorfer
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ,grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Division of Neuroradiology and Muscoskeletal Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ernst Schwartz
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Computational Imaging Research Lab, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Florian Ph.S. Fischmeister
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Division of Neuroradiology and Muscoskeletal Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ,grid.5110.50000000121539003Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria ,grid.452216.6BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Georg Langs
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Computational Imaging Research Lab, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Michael Weber
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Division of Neuroradiology and Muscoskeletal Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sonja Lackner-Schmelz
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ,grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Division of Neuroradiology and Muscoskeletal Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Patric Kienast
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Division of Neuroradiology and Muscoskeletal Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marlene Stümpflen
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Division of Neuroradiology and Muscoskeletal Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Athena Taymourtash
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Computational Imaging Research Lab, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sophie Mandl
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Johanna Alexopoulos
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria ,grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Department of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniela Prayer
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Division of Neuroradiology and Muscoskeletal Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Rainer Seidl
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Comprehensive Center for Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Gregor Kasprian
- grid.22937.3d0000 0000 9259 8492Division of Neuroradiology and Muscoskeletal Radiology, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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