The evolution of the cortico-cerebellar complex in primates: anatomical connections predict patterns of correlated evolution
Abstract
Investigations into the evolution of the primate brain have tended to neglect the role of connectivity in determining which brain structures have changed in size, focusing instead on changes in the size of the whole brain or of individual brain structures, such as the neocortex, in isolation. We show that the primate cerebellum, neocortex, vestibular nuclei and relays between them exhibit correlated volumetric evolution, even after removing the effects of change in other structures. The patterns of correlated evolution among individual nuclei correspond to their known patterns of connectivity. These results support the idea that the brain evolved by mosaic size change in arrays of functionally connected structures. Furthermore, they suggest that the much discussed expansion of the primate neocortex should be re-evaluated in the light of conjoint cerebellar expansion.
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There is a striking correspondence between the patterns of correlated evolution among specific components of the cortico-cerebellar system and their anatomical connectivity, down to the level of individual nuclei.
“Second, there is a striking correspondence between the patterns of correlated evolution among specific components of the cortico-cerebellar system and their anatomical connectivity, down to the level of individual nuclei [62,67].”
From Embodied cognitive evolution and the cerebellum (2012) · cites this paper as [67]
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- Authors
- Whiting, B. A., & Barton, R. A.
- Affiliations
- Durham University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Whiting, B.A
- ORCID
- Barton, R.A
- Venue
- Journal of Human Evolution
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2003-01
- Volume
- 44
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-10
- ISSN
- 0047-2484 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1999446466
- Cited by
- 137
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 5.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Human Evolution (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Geometry and Topology › Morphological variations and asymmetry
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Keywords
- primate brain evolution, cerebellum, neocortex, vestibular nuclei, brain connectivity, brain size
- MeSH terms
- Anatomy, Comparative, Animals, Anthropometry, Cerebellar Cortex, Biological Evolution, Pons, Primates, Thalamus, Vestibular Nuclei, Neocortex
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