Single gene may be responsible for evolution of ‘thinking’ part of brain

A SINGLE gene may be responsible for the size and shape of the brain’s cerebral cortex, the seat of human intellect.

The development of the human brain has been the subject of much research and controversy.

Scientists have now uncovered evidence that the evolution of the cerebral cortex — the “thinking” part of the brain — may have been driven by just one gene.

A study found that mutations in the NDE1 gene caused a congenital condition in which children are born with abnormally small brains. The gene is involved in cell division.

Offspring from one Turkish and two Pakistani families with the problem had brains 10% the normal size.

They also lacked the normal architecture of the cerebral cortex that is the hallmark of the human brain.

Yale University professor Murat Gunel, who led the research, said: “The degree of reduction in the size of the cerebral cortex and the effects on brain morphology suggest this gene plays a key role in the evolution of the human brain.

“These findings demonstrate how single molecules have influenced the expansion of the human cerebral cortex in the last five million years. We are now a little closer to understanding just how this miracle happens.”

The research is published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.