The human brain is one of the most complex organs in nature. It allows us to think, plan, imagine, communicate, and understand the world in ways that no other animal can.
For hundreds of years, scientists have tried to understand what makes the human brain so special and how it develops from childhood into adulthood.
Even today, many questions remain unanswered, especially about why humans think and behave so differently from other animals that are genetically similar to us.
In recent years, new technologies have given scientists powerful tools to study the brain in far greater detail than ever before. These tools allow researchers to look at individual cells, track how genes behave over time, and see how different parts of the brain develop after birth.
With these advances, scientists are starting to uncover clues that may explain not only human intelligence, but also why humans are more vulnerable to certain brain and mental health disorders.
A new study led by researchers from Beijing Normal University and the Changping Laboratory takes a major step forward in this area. The research compared how the brains of humans and macaque monkeys develop after birth.
Macaques are often studied because their brains share many similarities with human brains. However, this study revealed an important difference: the human brain, especially the prefrontal cortex, develops much more slowly.
The prefrontal cortex is a key part of the brain that sits just behind the forehead. It plays a major role in decision-making, self-control, planning, emotions, and social behavior.
This area is also involved in many mental health conditions, including autism, schizophrenia, and attention-related disorders. Understanding how this part of the brain develops is critical for understanding what makes humans unique.
To study this process, the researchers analyzed brain tissue from both humans and macaques at different stages after birth. The human samples came from children with epilepsy who needed surgery as part of their medical care.
The scientists carefully studied individual cells from these tissues, looking at which genes were active, how tightly the DNA was packed, and how different cell types were arranged across the brain.
By studying the brain at the level of single cells, the researchers could see how neurons and support cells grow and change over time. They found that in humans, the development of the prefrontal cortex stretches out over a much longer period compared to macaques.
This slower timeline gives human brain cells more time to form connections, adjust their roles, and refine the networks that support thinking and behavior.
One striking finding involved glial cells, which are support cells that help neurons function properly. In humans, the early forms of these cells multiply more and stay active for longer periods. This extended growth may help the brain build stronger and more flexible networks, but it may also increase the chance of errors during development.
The researchers also found that certain genes and control switches are active only in the human brain. These human-specific features guide how brain cells grow, connect, and mature. Some of these same features are linked to brain disorders, suggesting that the very processes that support advanced thinking may also make the human brain more fragile.
By comparing humans and macaques side by side, the study helps explain why human brain development continues well into childhood and adolescence. This long development period supports learning, creativity, and social skills, but it also creates a longer window during which things can go wrong.
When reviewing these findings, it becomes clear that slower brain development is not a weakness, but a trade-off. The extended growth of the human prefrontal cortex allows for complex thinking and emotional depth, but it may also explain why humans are more likely to develop certain mental and developmental conditions.
The study shows that brain health cannot be separated from brain development, and that understanding early growth is key to preventing and treating disorders later in life.
Overall, this research provides strong evidence that what makes the human brain special is not just its size or structure, but the time it takes to develop. By growing slowly and carefully, the human brain gains its remarkable abilities.
At the same time, this slow growth may increase vulnerability to disease. These insights open new paths for future research and may eventually lead to better ways to support brain health throughout life.
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The study is published in Nature Neuroscience.
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