Cited by 67Language and cultural evolutionGenetics and Neurodevelopmental DisordersLanguage Development and Disorders

The evolutionary history of genes involved in spoken and written language: beyond FOXP2

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Mozzi, Alessandra, Forni, Diego, Clerici, Mario, Pozzoli, Uberto, Mascheretti, Sara, Guerini, Franca R., Riva, Stefania, Bresolin, Nereo +2 more·2016·Scientific Reports

Abstract

Humans possess a communication system based on spoken and written language. Other animals can learn vocalization by imitation, but this is not equivalent to human language. Many genes were described to be implicated in language impairment (LI) and developmental dyslexia (DD), but their evolutionary history has not been thoroughly analyzed. Herein we analyzed the evolution of ten genes involved in DD and LI. Results show that the evolutionary history of LI genes for mammals and aves was comparable in vocal-learner species and non-learners. For the human lineage, several sites showing evidence of positive selection were identified in KIAA0319 and were already present in Neanderthals and Denisovans, suggesting that any phenotypic change they entailed was shared with archaic hominins. Conversely, in FOXP2, ROBO1, ROBO2, and CNTNAP2 non-coding changes rose to high frequency after the separation from archaic hominins. These variants are promising candidates for association studies in LI and DD.

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  1. Mattingly I. G. Reading, the linguistic process and linguistic awareness. In Language by ear and by eyes: the relationships between speech and reading (ed. Kavanagh J. F., Mattingly I. G.) 133– 147 (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1972).

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Authors
Mozzi, A., Forni, D., Clerici, M., Pozzoli, U., Mascheretti, S., Guerini, F. R., Riva, S., Bresolin, N., Cagliani, R., & Sironi, M.
Affiliations
  • IRCCS Eugenio Medea (IT)
  • University of Milan (IT)
  • Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation (IT)
Corresponding author
Mozzi, Alessandra
Venue
Scientific Reports
Published
2016-02-25
Volume
6
Issue
1
Pages
22157-22157
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2279694521
Cited by
67
References
96
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 5
FWCI
113.15
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca (Universita Degli Studi Di Milano) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • BOA (University of Milano-Bicocca) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Language and cultural evolution
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
Keywords
language evolution, spoken language, written language, language impairment, developmental dyslexia, FOXP2, KIAA0319, ROBO1, Robo2, CNTNAP2, positive selection, vocal learning, Neanderthals, Denisovans, archaic humans, non-coding variants, comparative genomics
MeSH terms
Roundabout Proteins, Animals, Humans, Language Development Disorders, Membrane Proteins, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Receptors, Immunologic, Selection, Genetic, Sequence Alignment, Evolution, Molecular, Forkhead Transcription Factors

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