Auditory sequence processing reveals evolutionarily conserved regions of frontal cortex in macaques and humans

Benjamin Wilson; Yukiko Kikuchi; Li Sun; David Hunter; Frederic Dick; Kenny Smith; Alexander Thiele; Timothy D. Griffiths; William D. Marslen-Wilson; Christopher I. Petkov

doi:10.1038/ncomms9901

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Auditory sequence processing reveals evolutionarily conserved regions of frontal cortex in macaques and humans

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Auditory sequence processing reveals evolutionarily conserved regions of frontal cortex in macaques and humans

Benjamin Wilson, Yukiko Kikuchi, Li Sun, David Hunter, Frederic Dick, Kenny Smith, Alexander Thiele, Timothy D. Griffiths, William D. Marslen-Wilson and Christopher I. Petkov

Nature communications, Vol.6(1), pp.8901-8901

11/01/2015

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9901

PMCID: PMC4660034

PMID: 26573340

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Abstract

An evolutionary account of human language as a neurobiological system must distinguish between human-unique neurocognitive processes supporting language and evolutionarily conserved, domain-general processes that can be traced back to our primate ancestors. Neuroimaging studies across species may determine whether candidate neural processes are supported by homologous, functionally conserved brain areas or by different neurobiological substrates. Here we use functional magnetic resonance imaging in Rhesus macaques and humans to examine the brain regions involved in processing the ordering relationships between auditory nonsense words in rule-based sequences. We find that key regions in the human ventral frontal and opercular cortex have functional counterparts in the monkey brain. These regions are also known to be associated with initial stages of human syntactic processing. This study raises the possibility that certain ventral frontal neural systems, which play a significant role in language function in modern humans, originally evolved to support domain-general abilities involved in sequence processing.

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Title: Subtitle: Auditory sequence processing reveals evolutionarily conserved regions of frontal cortex in macaques and humans
Creators: Benjamin Wilson - Newcastle University
Yukiko Kikuchi - Newcastle University
Li Sun - Newcastle University
David Hunter - Newcastle University
Frederic Dick - Birkbeck, University of London
Kenny Smith - University of Edinburgh
Alexander Thiele - Newcastle University
Timothy D. Griffiths - Newcastle University
William D. Marslen-Wilson - University of Cambridge
Christopher I. Petkov - Newcastle University
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Nature communications, Vol.6(1), pp.8901-8901
DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9901
PMID: 26573340
PMCID: PMC4660034
NLM abbreviation: Nat Commun
ISSN: 2041-1723
eISSN: 2041-1723
Publisher: Springer Nature
Number of pages: 12
Grant note: MC_U105580454 / Medical Research Council; UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Medical Research Council UK (MRC); European Commission WT092606/Z/10/Z; WT102961MA / Wellcome Trust; European Commission 230570 / European Research Council; European Research Council (ERC); European Commission MC_U105580454 / MRC; UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Medical Research Council UK (MRC) BB/J009849/1 / BBSRC; UK Research & Innovation (UKRI); Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Language: English
Date published: 11/01/2015
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Neurosurgery; Otolaryngology
Record Identifier: 9984360130102771

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