A developmental approach to homology and brain evolution

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dc.contributor.authorAboitiz, Francisco
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-21T00:02:28Z
dc.date.available2025-01-21T00:02:28Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.description.abstractAlthough homology is central to evolutionary interpretations, establishing it has become a highly disputed issue in some instances. Here I argue for a developmental understanding of evolution, where modifications of the developmental programs are a key source of evolutionary novelty. Although this perspective is not new, in comparative neurobiology it has remained controversial. Specifically, the evolutionary origin of the mammalian neocortex has been a particularly debated point. I propose a perspective that could help reconcile a long standing controversy: either the mammalian neocortex corresponds as a whole to the dorsal hemisphere of reptiles and birds, or alternatively its lateral aspect corresponds to the lateral cerebral hemisphere and is partly homologous to the dorsal ventricular ridge (DVR), a brain mass that receives the bulk of sensory input in reptiles and birds. Genetic and embryonic evidence strongly favor a dorsal origin for the whole neocortex, while the DVR derives from the lateral hemisphere. Nevertheless, the phylogenetically new elements of both the neocortex and the avian DVR derive largely from intermediate progenitor cells located in the embryonic subventricular zone (SVZ), a zone of late proliferating activity located deep to the ventral, the lateral and the dorsal hemisphere. I suggest that, despite originating in different embryonic regions (lateral vs. dorsal hemisphere), the evolutionary new cellular elements in both the avian brain and in the mammalian neocortex derive from the activation of a similar genetic pathway, possibly activated by the gene Pax-6, that induces the late proliferation of embryonic neural progenitors. This pathway can be ancestral to amniotes, reflecting genetic homology. In mammals and birds independently, this precursor proliferative activity differentiated into an SVZ, recruiting neuronal precursors from different parts of the cerebral hemisphere in each group, to contribute to brain expansion.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.eissn0717-6317
dc.identifier.issn0716-078X
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/95426
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000288583300002
dc.issue.numero4
dc.language.isoen
dc.pagina.final477
dc.pagina.inicio469
dc.revistaRevista chilena de historia natural
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectdorsal ventricular ridge
dc.subjectneocortex
dc.subjectpallium
dc.subjectsubventricular zone
dc.subjectventricular zone
dc.subject.ods03 Good Health and Well-being
dc.subject.odspa03 Salud y bienestar
dc.titleA developmental approach to homology and brain evolution
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen83
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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