Metabolic changes in human brain evolution

Amy L. Bauernfeind; Courtney C. Babbitt

doi:10.1002/evan.21831

Metabolic changes in human brain evolution

Amy L. Bauernfeind, Courtney C. Babbitt

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Because the human brain is considerably larger than those of other primates, it is not surprising that its energy requirements would far exceed that of any of the species within the order. Recently, the development of stem cell technologies and single-cell transcriptomics provides novel ways to address the question of what specific genomic changes underlie the human brain's unique phenotype. In this review, we consider what is currently known about human brain metabolism using a variety of methods from brain imaging and stereology to transcriptomics. Next, we examine novel opportunities that stem cell technologies and single-cell transcriptomics provide to further our knowledge of human brain energetics. These new experimental approaches provide the ability to elucidate the functional effects of changes in genetic sequence and expression levels that potentially had a profound impact on the evolution of the human brain.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	201-211
Number of pages	11
Journal	Evolutionary Anthropology
Volume	29
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21831
State	Published - Jul 1 2020

Keywords

chimpanzee
energy
gene expression
genomics
glucose metabolism
neuron
primate

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10.1002/evan.21831

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title = "Metabolic changes in human brain evolution",

abstract = "Because the human brain is considerably larger than those of other primates, it is not surprising that its energy requirements would far exceed that of any of the species within the order. Recently, the development of stem cell technologies and single-cell transcriptomics provides novel ways to address the question of what specific genomic changes underlie the human brain's unique phenotype. In this review, we consider what is currently known about human brain metabolism using a variety of methods from brain imaging and stereology to transcriptomics. Next, we examine novel opportunities that stem cell technologies and single-cell transcriptomics provide to further our knowledge of human brain energetics. These new experimental approaches provide the ability to elucidate the functional effects of changes in genetic sequence and expression levels that potentially had a profound impact on the evolution of the human brain.",

keywords = "chimpanzee, energy, gene expression, genomics, glucose metabolism, neuron, primate",

author = "Bauernfeind, {Amy L.} and Babbitt, {Courtney C.}",

note = "Funding Information: We would like to thank the following funding sources: National Science Foundation BCS-1750377 (C. C. B.), the Wenner Gren Foundation (C. C. B.), and Leakey Foundation (A. L. B. and C. C. B.). We would also like to thank T. Zintel and J. Pizzollo for discussion. Funding Information: We would like to thank the following funding sources: National Science Foundation BCS‐1750377 (C. C. B.), the Wenner Gren Foundation (C. C. B.), and Leakey Foundation (A. L. B. and C. C. B.). We would also like to thank T. Zintel and J. Pizzollo for discussion. Funding Information: Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, Grant/Award Number: BCS‐1750377; Leakey Foundation; Wenner Gren Foundation; National Science Foundation Funding information Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.",

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Metabolic changes in human brain evolution

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Keywords

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