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Acquisition of Paleolithic toolmaking abilities involves structural remodeling to inferior frontoparietal regions

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Abstract

Human ancestors first modified stones into tools 2.6 million years ago, initiating a cascading increase in technological complexity that continues today. A parallel trend of brain expansion during the Paleolithic has motivated over 100 years of theorizing linking stone toolmaking and human brain evolution, but empirical support remains limited. Our study provides the first direct experimental evidence identifying likely neuroanatomical targets of natural selection acting on toolmaking ability. Subjects received MRI and DTI scans before, during, and after a 2-year Paleolithic toolmaking training program. White matter fractional anisotropy (FA) showed changes in branches of the superior longitudinal fasciculus leading into left supramarginal gyrus, bilateral ventral precentral gyri, and right inferior frontal gyrus pars triangularis. FA increased from Scan 1–2, a period of intense training, and decreased from Scan 2–3, a period of reduced training. Voxel-based morphometry found a similar trend toward gray matter expansion in the left supramarginal gyrus from Scan 1–2 and a reversal of this effect from Scan 2–3. FA changes correlated with training hours and with motor performance, and probabilistic tractography confirmed that white matter changes projected to gray matter changes and to regions that activate during Paleolithic toolmaking. These results show that acquisition of Paleolithic toolmaking skills elicits structural remodeling of recently evolved brain regions supporting human tool use, providing a mechanistic link between stone toolmaking and human brain evolution. These regions participate not only in toolmaking, but also in other complex functions including action planning and language, in keeping with the hypothesized co-evolution of these functions.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust, “Learning to Be Human: Skill Acquisition and the Development of the Human Brain”, F/00 144/BP. SVT  and AAF  acknowledge support by the  “Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council” and  funding by the Human Frontiers in Science Program (HFSP RPG00022/2012).  JK received funding from the Wellcome Trust.  We would like to extend our gratitude to the volunteer subjects whose dedication, good humor and reliability made this project possible. Thanks are also due to Chris Frith for advice and support on this project, to Antony Whitlock for assistance with toolmaking training, and to Anderson Winkler for helpful input on GLM designation in FSL.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, Emory University, 1557 Dickey Drive, Room 114, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    E. E. Hecht & D. Stout

  2. Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, USA

    D. A. Gutman

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, USA

    D. A. Gutman

  4. Department of Archaeology, University of Exeter, Laver Building, North Park Road, Exeter, EX4 4QE, UK

    N. Khreisheh & B. A. Bradley

  5. Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, Royal School of Mines Building, Prince Consort Rd, SW7 2AZ, London, UK

    S. V. Taylor & A. A. Faisal

  6. The Sobell Department of Movement Neuroscience and Motor Disorders, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK

    J. Kilner

  7. Department of Bioengineering and Computing, Imperial College London, Royal School of Mines Building, Prince Consort Rd, SW7 2AZ, London, UK

    A. A. Faisal

  8. MRC Clinical Sciences Center, London, UK

    A. A. Faisal

  9. Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone UMR 7289, Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, 13385, Marseille, France

    T. Chaminade

  10. Center for Comprehensive Informatics, Emory University, Psychology Building, Suite 563, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    D. A. Gutman

  11. Department of Psychology, Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    E. E. Hecht

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Hecht, E.E., Gutman, D.A., Khreisheh, N. et al. Acquisition of Paleolithic toolmaking abilities involves structural remodeling to inferior frontoparietal regions. Brain Struct Funct 220, 2315–2331 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-014-0789-6

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