'Residual echo' of ancient humans in scans may hold clues to mental disorders
MRI information reveals areas of the cranium preferentially affected by the quantity of Neanderthal-derived DNA. Credit score: Michael Gregory, M.D., NIMH Part on Integrative Neuroimaging Researchers on the Nationwide Institute of Psychological Well being ( NIMH ) have produced the primary direct proof that elements of our brains implicated in psychological problems could also be formed by a "residual echo" from our historical previous. The extra an individual's genome carries genetic vestiges of Neanderthals, the extra sure elements of his or her mind and cranium resemble these of people' evolutionary cousins that went extinct 40,000 years in the past, says NIMH's Karen Berman, M.D. NIMH is a part of the Nationwide Institutes of Well being. Specifically, the elements of our brains that allow us to make use of instruments and visualize and find objects owe a few of their lineage to Neanderthal-derived gene variants which are a pa...