Complex pattern of variation in neurocranial ontogeny revealed by CT-scanning
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7637979 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marisol Anzelmo (Universidad Nacional de La Plata, corresponding author), Fernando Ventrice (Hospital Posadas), Diana Kelmansky (0000-0001-8960-1950, Fundación Ciencias Exactas y Naturales), M L Sardi (0000-0003-3614-8341, Universidad Nacional de La Plata), Marina Sardi |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 75 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 113-130 |
| Publication date | 2018-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Anthropologischer Anzeiger (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-5548 • E-ISSN: 2363-7099 |
| Publisher | Schweizerbart (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1127/anthranz/2018/0771 |
| PMID | 29387866 |
| OpenAlex | W2790139918 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 14 |
The neurocranium of hominid species has been largely studied with reference to the midsagittal plane, with variations being attributed to brain evolution. By contrast, there is limited information on variation in non-midsagittal regions, which are the points of insertion of muscles and bony structures related to mastication. This work aims to analyze ontogenetic changes and sexual dimorphism (SD) in midsagittal and non-midsagittal neurocranial structures from a contemporary human sample comprising 138 computed tomography (CT) cranial images of individuals ranging from infants to adults. Morphology of the vault and the base was assessed by registering landmarks and semilandmarks, which were analyzed by geometric morphometrics, and the endocranial volume (EV). The results of regressions and Kruskal-Wallis test indicate that the major size and shape changes in both midsagittal and non-midsagittal regions occur during infancy and juvenility; shape changes are also associated with an increase in EV. The size of the midsagittal vault, the shape of the non-midsagittal vault and the size of the base show an extension of ontogenetic trajectories. Sexes show similar changes in shape but different changes in size. We conclude that brain growth appears to be an important factor influencing the morphology of the neurocranium, at least during infancy and childhood. Subsequent changes may be attributed to osteogenic activity and the differential growth of the brain lobes. Masticatory-related bony structures and muscles may not be strong enough factors to induce independent modifications in non-midsagittal structures. The small influence of the cranial muscles would explain why the human neurocranium is a quite integrated structure.
Biology · Coronal plane · Cranial vault · Masticatory force · Morphology (biology) · Morphometrics · Neurocranium · Ontogeny · Sexual dimorphism · Skull · Zoology · Anatomy · Craniofacial Disorders and Treatments · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Medicine · Orthodontics · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
The primate cranial base
Endocranial capacity of the Bodo cranium determined from three‐dimensional computed tomography
Effects of food processing on masticatory strain and craniofacial growth in a retrognathic face
A cross-sectional study of human craniofacial growth
Assessing endocranial variations in great apes and humans using 3D data from virtual endocasts
Ontogeny of facial dimorphism and patterns of individual development within one human population
Sexual dimorphism in the growth of the cranium
Sexual dimorphism in the baboon facial skeleton
Occipital bunning among later pleistocene hominids
Hierarchical nature of morphological integration and modularity in the human posterior face
Unusually low sexual dimorphism of endocranial capacity in a Zulu cranial series
Endocranial shape changes during growth in chimpanzees and humans
Thin-plate spline analysis of allometry and sexual dimorphism in the human craniofacial complex
Analysis of sexual dimorphism of craniofacial traits using geometric morphometric techniques
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |