New Study Reveals Language-Linked Brain Pathway in Chimpanzees.

A groundbreaking study has discovered a brain structure in chimpanzees that mirrors a vital neural pathway used for language processing in humans. This finding challenges the long-held belief that the neuronal network supporting language is exclusive to the human brain.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, alongside colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the Alfred Wegener Institute, have found a similar nerve fiber connection in the brains of chimpanzees. Their results, recently published in Nature Communications, shed light on the evolutionary roots of human language.

At the core of this discovery is the arcuate fascicle (AF), a bundle of nerve fibers that links language-related brain regions. In humans, this bundle connects to the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), playing a crucial role in language comprehension and production. The study is the first to reveal that this same connection also exists in chimpanzee brains.

“Our findings indicate that the neural architecture critical for language did not emerge entirely anew in humans,” said lead author Yannick Becker. “It likely developed from an older, existing structure. However, in chimpanzees, this connection is notably weaker, which may explain their lack of complex language abilities.”

The researchers employed high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the brains of chimpanzees. Notably, their analysis included both captive animals and wild individuals that died of natural causes in the African jungle. This approach allowed for an exceptionally detailed visualization of the nerve fibers' pathways.

Alfred Anwander, senior author of the study, noted the significance of the discovery: “In all twenty chimpanzee brains we studied, we observed a clear connection between the AF and the middle temporal gyrus—a feature previously thought to be uniquely human.”

These results suggest that the basic brain framework necessary for complex communication was already present in the last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees around seven million years ago. Since that ancestor’s brain has not been preserved, chimpanzees serve as the closest available comparison for studying the evolutionary origins of language.

“This challenges the assumption that the brain structures enabling language developed only in humans,” said Angela D. Friederici, co-author and director of Neuropsychology at the Max Planck Institute. “Our findings reshape the understanding of how language and cognition evolved.”

The research team aims to continue exploring this connection further. Through collaboration with African wildlife reserves, sanctuaries, and European zoos, they plan to match behavioral data from great apes with brain imaging. This will enable deeper investigation into the neural basis of cognition in our closest living relatives.

Source:https://phys.org/news/2025-05-nerve-fibers-enabling-language-chimpanzee.html

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