Biologists have discovered the gene that caused the evolution of the human brain

 The ARHGAP11B gene, which is present only in humans and stimulates the development of the neocortex, may have played an important role in the evolutionary separation of humans and apes, experts from the Institute of Molecular Biology and Cell Genetics. Max Planck in Germany. They told about it in an article in the journal EMBO Reports.

Neocortex - areas of the cerebral cortex that are almost undeveloped in lower mammals, but in humans, they are the main part of the cortex and are responsible for higher neural functions, including conscious thinking and speech.

Since research on great apes is ethically prohibited in Europe, scientists have grown organelles from stem cells - three-dimensional cellular structures a few millimeters in size - of the human and chimpanzee brains. The introduction of the ARHGAP11B gene into the organoid of the chimpanzee brain led to the active form of stem cells destined for neocortical formation, as well as an increase in the number of neurons in general.

Blocking the ARHGAP11B gene in human brain organelles reduced the number of neocortical stem cells to levels found in chimpanzee brain organelles. In earlier experiments, the same group of scientists showed that ARHGAP11B can enlarge the brains of primates. However, it was unclear whether this gene plays a role in the evolutionary growth of the human neocortex.

ARHGAP11B has been shown to play a key role in the development of the neocortex during human evolution. Given the important role of ARHGAP11B, it can be assumed that some neocortical malformations may be caused by mutations in this gene.