Variations and asymmetries in regional brain surface in the genus Homo.

The study of endocranial asymmetries of hominids is a central topic in paleoneurology. However, our knowledge about the emergence of these asymmetries during human evolution is still limited. This is partly due to the fact that, so far, these 3D asymmetries have been mostly analyzed using landmarks-based methods. Such methods are limited as they only provide a partial description of the anatomy and thus of the possible asymmetries. The endocranial anatomy may be better described by its whole contour, and the recent advent of computational tools allowing to process 3D free-form surfaces opens new tracks for automated and objective characterization of 3D endocranial asymmetries. One key problem before assessing the evolution of patterns of asymmetry in hominids is the identification of confounding factors such as age, sex and intra-specific variability. For this purpose, we use a new method for the automated quantification of 3D virtual endocranial shape of 60 Pan paniscus and 59 Pan troglodytes of different dental age and sex. 3D statistical analyzes are led to assess significantly asymmetrical areas on the endocasts within each population, and a comparison is made between the two populations. Several fossil hominin endocasts (such as Australopithecine species and fossil Homo species) are then reexamined in light of the previously estimated variability with these two extant Pan species. These new computational tools may offer a new way to address the question of how the typical endocranial asymmetries within modern humans (e.g. protrusions of the frontal and occipital lobes) emerged during evolution.

Automatic, landmark-free quantification of 3D endocranial asymmetries in extant and fossil species : new insights into paleoneurology

Paleoneurology is an important research field for studies of human evolution. Variations in the size and shape of the endocranium are a useful means of distin- guishing between different hominin species, while brain asymmetry is related to behaviour and cognitive capaci- ties. The evolution of the hominin brain is well documen- ted and substantial literature has been produced on this topic, mostly from studies of endocranial casts, or endo- casts. However, we have only little information about var- iations in endocranial form, size and shape in fossil anatomically modern Homo sapiens (AMH) and about the evolution of the brain since the emergence of our spe- cies. One good illustration of this limited knowledge is that one of the first fossil H. sapiens discovered, in 1868, that is also one of the oldest well-preserved Euro- pean specimen has never been studied in what concerns its endocranial morphology. The first aim of this study was to propose a detailed description of the endocranial anatomy of Cro-Magnon 1, using imaging methodologies, includ- ing an original methodology to quantify endocranial asymmetries. The second aim was to compare samples of the fossil and extant AMH in order to document differ- ences in the form, size and shape of the endocasts. A decrease in absolute endocranial size since the Upper Palaeolithic was noticeable. Although both extant and older endocrania have the same anatomical layout, we nonetheless found non-allometric differences in the rela- tive size and organization of different parts of the brain. These document previously unknown intraspecific ana- tomical variations in the H. sapiens brain, demonstrating its plasticity, with some areas (frontal and occipital lobes) having been more subject to variation than others (parie- tal, temporal or cerebellar lobes). That may be due to constraints to maintain an optimal performance while reducing in size and changing in shape during our recent evolution.

First description of the Cro-Magnon 1 endocast and study of brain variation and evolution in anatomically modern Homo sapiens Première description de l'endocrâne de Cro-Magnon 1 et étude de la variation et de l'évolution du cerveau chez les Hommes anatomiquement modernes

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Automatic, landmark-free quantification of 3D endocranial asymmetries in extant and fossil species : new insights into paleoneurology

First description of the Cro-Magnon 1 endocast and study of brain variation and evolution in anatomically modern Homo sapiens Première description de l'endocrâne de Cro-Magnon 1 et étude de la variation et de l'évolution du cerveau chez les Hommes anatomiquement modernes