New Clues About What Makes The Human Brain Special

摘要

What differentiates the human brain from those of our nearest primate relatives? Size, for one. Our brains are more than three times bigger than those of chimpanzees. But many researchers have come to suspect that less obvious differences lurking in the fine-scale structure of the human brain also contribute to its extraordinary processing power (Science, 2 March 2007, p. 1208). Identifying such microscopic differences has been a challenge, however. Now, researchers who've examined preserved samples of cerebral cortex from humans and several species of ape say they've found some intriguing clues about what makes the human brain unique. They report that in a particular region of the prefrontal cortex, an area that contributes to abstract thinking and other sophisticated cognition, neurons have more space between them in the human brain than in the brains of apes.