Human brain evolution

Although we share evolutionary history with other primates, examples of apparent cognitive and behavioral discontinuity between humans and other species abound. Neuroanatomical and molecular differences that distinguish the human brain are evident at several levels of organization. Changes in overall anatomy include an increase in absolute and relative brain size. In addition, there may be novel parietal lobe areas in humans that are involved in processing of evermore fine-grained visuospatial information. Modifications in microstructure, such as the distribution patterns and morphology of neurons and glial cells are also significant. Finally, changes in expression of both mRNA and proteins reflect increased energy consumption and plasticity. All together, these brain specializations, when coupled with cultural forces, shaped the evolution of human cognition.