Neuroscience: Language feature unique to human brain?
Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Center used diffusion
tensor imaging (DTI) to probe language areas of the human brain,
vs. that of non-human primates. They found that the pathway
(arcuate fasiculus) connecting brain regions involved in human
language such as Broca's area and Wernicke's area is much larger
and more widely connected than in rhesus macaques or
chimpanzees. Yerkes researcher James Rilling notes, "We know
from previous functional imaging studies that the middle
temporal lobe is involved with analyzing the meanings of words.
In humans, it seems the brain not only evolved larger language
regions but also a network of fibers to connect those regions,
which supports humans' superior language capabilities."Findings
like this may modify overly optimistic projections for
communicating on an equal footing with apes - though don't count
on it. Ideas like that die hard in times like these.