Development and evolution in morphogenesis of human brain and skull

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K12619
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Developmental mechanisms and the body works
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: Taga Gentaro 東京大学, 大学院教育学研究科(教育学部), 教授 (00272477)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 松井 三枝 金沢大学, 国際基幹教育院, 教授 (70209485) ; 檀 一平太 中央大学, 理工学部, 教授 (20399380)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): HOMAE Fumitaka 首都大学東京, 人文科学研究科, 准教授 (20533417) ; TSUZUKI Daisuke 首都大学東京, 人文科学研究科, 特任准教授 (50646346)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 脳 / 発達 / 進化 / 乳児 / 頭蓋 / 形態

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Landmark points of the brain and cranial morphology were extracted using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head of 16 human infants and children from 3 to 22 months old, and the changes in size and morphology during development were analyzed. The study revealed that (1) there is a large morphological variation in a specific region of the brain, (2) the skull grows anisotropically in the anterior-posterior and lateral directions, and (3) the relative positional relationship between the brain and the skull landmark points is stable, in the course of development. The possibility that the diversity of brain and skull morphology in development leads to the evolution of the brain was discussed.

Free Research Field

発達脳科学