Language evolution and the arcuate fasciculus

Did language evolve gradually via communication precursors in the primate lineage or did it arise spontaneously through a fortuitous confluence of neuroanatomical changes that are found only in humans? Rilling et al., reviewed by Ghazanfar, have used diffusion-tensor imaging to track putative differences in white matter connectivity between the frontal and temporal lobes, a pathway that is essential for language, by comparing humans, chimpanzees and macaque monkeys. They focused on the arcuate fasciculus,the fiber tract connecting the temporal to the frontal lobes in humans, which is essential for language in humans. Lesions to this pathway result in conduction aphasia, in which, among other deficits, patients can comprehend speech, but cannot repeat what was said. Rilling et al found that the organization of cortical terminations between the temporal and frontal lobes was strongly modified in the course of human evolution, and, crucially, this modification was gradual. They also noted a prominent temporal lobe projection of the human arcuate fasciculus that is much smaller or absent in nonhuman primates. This human specialization may be relevant to the evolution of language.


Figure from the News and Views summary by Ghazanfar (click to enlarge) - Chimpanzees are phylogenetically between macaques and humans in the primate lineage, and the similarly 'in between' pattern of their arcuate pathway terminations strongly suggest a gradual evolution of this pathway.(a) Changing patterns of connections between frontal cortical areas and the temporal lobe in humans, chimpanzees and macaque monkeys. AS, arcuate sulcus; CS, central sulcus; IFS, inferior frontal sulcus; IPS, intraparietal sulcus; PS, principal sulcus; PrCS, precentral sulcus; STS, superior temporal sulcus. (b) The voice area in the rhesus macaque relative to other auditory cortical areas and where the voice area would be if it were in a similar location as the human voice area. LS, lateral sulcus; IOS, inferior occipital sulcus; STS, superior temporal sulcus; other labels refer to cytoarchitectonic areal designations. The lateral sulcus is cut open to reveal the superior temporal plane. In this plane, the core region is thought to contain 'primary-like' areas, responding best to pure tones, whereas the surrounding belt areas are more responsive to complex sounds. The voice area in macaques is anterior to the core and belt regions. INS, insula; IT, inferotemporal cortex; Tpt, temporoparietal area.