Serotonin can act as a growth factor for the stem cells in the fetal human brain that determine brain size. During human evolution, the size of the brain increased, especially in a particular part ...

ARHGAP11B -- this complex name is given to a gene that is unique to humans and plays an essential role in the development of the neocortex. The neocortex is the part of the brain to which we owe our ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 neocortex comprises the largest part of the cerebral cortex and is the outermost layer that covers the structures of the brain. Comprised of four main lobes with specific functions, the cortex ...

In a bid to better understand, and potentially treat, a host of conditions that affect early cognition, neurodevelopment, and the brain later in life, investigators at Johns Hopkins Medicine and ...

Scientists at UCLA have created one of the first cellular-resolution molecular maps detailing how Down syndrome alters human ...