The activity of neuronal circuits of the neocortex underlies our ability to perceive the world and interact with our environment. During development, these circuits emerge from dynamic interactions ...

In a recent study published in Science, researchers demonstrated how transketolase-like 1 (TKTL1) gene expression influenced neocortical neurogenesis in modern humans. Study: Human TKTL1 implies ...

To build the neocortex, a brain area involved in higher cognitive functions, stem cells produce billions of neurons of various types. In a Science study, neuroscientists from Switzerland, Belgium, and ...

The question of what makes modern humans unique has long been a driving force for researchers. Comparisons with our closest relatives, the Neanderthals, therefore provide fascinating insights. The ...

The question of what makes modern humans unique has long been a driving force for researchers. Comparisons with our closest relatives, the Neandertals, therefore provide fascinating insights. The ...

A single difference in a protein called TKTL1 may have given modern humans a significant advantage over Neanderthals. Scientists have shown that the human TKTL1 variant, but not the archaic variant, ...

A human-specific gene causes a larger neocortex in the common marmoset, a non-human primate. A human-specific gene causes a larger neocortex in the common marmoset, a non-human primate. The expansion ...

Researchers from Dresden uncover a greater neuron production in the frontal lobe during brain development in modern humans than Neandertals, due to the change of a single amino acid in the protein ...