<p>Current theories fail to explain why the ability to control speech is unique to humans. We recently identified one unique feature in the human frontal cortex that may hold the key to this question: the Prefrontal Operculum (PFO). Here we aim to identify 1) its anatomo-functional organization to elucidate its potential function and 2) whether it has a homolog in the macaque brain. Functional connectivity (FC) results in humans, revealed that PFO is subdivided in two regions (aPFO and pPFO), displaying strong interactions but distinct whole brain FC profiles with respectively the language and the cognitive control networks, and thus suggesting an important role of PFO in the cognitive control of speech. Connectivity fingerprint analyses in macaques revealed similarities with pPFO, but we found no macaque homolog of human aPFO. Altogether, this study points toward the emergence of aPFO as an evolutionary advantage in hominids for modern speech abilities.</p>

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The prefrontal operculum, a human-specific hub for the cognitive control of speech

  • Charles Verstraete,
  • Elsa Lazzaro,
  • Delphine Autran-Clavagnier,
  • Manon Dirheimer,
  • Fadila Hadj-Bouziane,
  • Franck Lamberton,
  • Kep Kee Loh,
  • Emmanuel Procyk,
  • Charles R. E. Wilson,
  • Camille Giacometti,
  • Céline Amiez

摘要

Current theories fail to explain why the ability to control speech is unique to humans. We recently identified one unique feature in the human frontal cortex that may hold the key to this question: the Prefrontal Operculum (PFO). Here we aim to identify 1) its anatomo-functional organization to elucidate its potential function and 2) whether it has a homolog in the macaque brain. Functional connectivity (FC) results in humans, revealed that PFO is subdivided in two regions (aPFO and pPFO), displaying strong interactions but distinct whole brain FC profiles with respectively the language and the cognitive control networks, and thus suggesting an important role of PFO in the cognitive control of speech. Connectivity fingerprint analyses in macaques revealed similarities with pPFO, but we found no macaque homolog of human aPFO. Altogether, this study points toward the emergence of aPFO as an evolutionary advantage in hominids for modern speech abilities.