Date of Award
2009
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Abstract
The human prefrontal cortex (PFC) is associated with complex cognitive behaviors such as planning for the future, memory for serial order, social information processing and language. Understanding how the PFC has changed through time is central to the study of human neural evolution. Here we investigate the expansion of the PFC by measuring relative surface area of the PFC in Pan troglodytes and Homo sapiens. Magnetic resonance images (MRI's) from 8 preserved chimpanzee brains (3 male and 5 female adults) were segmented and measured. The results of this study indicate that there are gross anatomical differences between the chimpanzee and human prefrontal cortex beyond absolute size. The lower surface area to volume ratio in PFC of the chimpanzee when compared to a human indicates less gyral white matter in this region and thus, less associative connectivity. This anatomical evidence of a difference corresponds with the lesser cognitive complexity observed in chimpanzees.
Extent
ix, 40 p. : ill. (some col.)
Recommended Citation
George, Ian D., "Relative prefrontal cortex surface area in Pan troglodytes and Homo sapiens and its implications for cognitive evolution" (2009). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009. 1770.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_5/1770
Identifier
FADT221945
Comments
by Ian D. George.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009.|Includes bibliography.|Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.|by Ian D. George.