A whisper to a scream Antoine Balzeau and colleagues (2026) have just published a large analysis and open-access dataset comparing 75 human brains and endocasts.

Brains and endocasts, a whisper to a scream lawnchairanthropology.com/2026/04/15/a...

Very cool new preprint (another one relying on the great @ukbiobank.ac.uk resource) looking at effects of introgressed Neanderthal alleles on present-day brain morphology 🧪🧠🧬

‘The Fox, the Shrew, and You: How Brains Evolved,’ an excerpt In his new book, Rogier Mars provides a detailed account of animal and human brain evolution. In this excerpt from Chapter 1, he starts with the sea squirt—and why it needs the brain it eats after its...

Why would sea squirts eat their own brains? In his new book, “The Fox, The Shrew, and You: How Brains Evolved,” Rogier Mars provides a detailed account of this and other quirks in animal and human brain evolution.

#neuroskyence

www.thetransmitter.org/evolution/th...

An adult specimen of the comb jelly Mnemiopsis leidyi seen from above. In the center of the image, it is possible to distinguish the aboral organ, a complex sensory structure. (Alexandre Jan)

The 3D architecture of the ctenophore aboral organ and the evolution of complex integrative centers in animals 🧪
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Suggests central sensory organ is more complex and brain-like than we realized.

That's got huge implications for the evolution of animal nervous systems.

Hardback copy of Free Agents lying on a desk. The title and author’s name (Kevin J Mitchell) are visible on the front and spine.

4th Thinking about thinking usually makes my brain hurt but @wiringthebrain.bsky.social writes with such clarity & authority that ‘Free Agents’ – his account of how evolution delivered up free will – was immensely rewarding. Recommend you freely choose to read it! #BooksOf2026

The Chimpanzee in the Machine Our brains have a dedicated space for human voices, but it turns out we’ve been keeping the door open for our closest relatives.

Your brain has a “human” voice detector, but it turns out it’s been listening to chimpanzees this whole time. New research shows our neural hardware for voices is an ancient primate inheritance. #Neuroscience #Evolution #Anthropology www.primatology.net/p/the-chimpa...

Figure 2 from Monson et al (2026). Figure 2. Allometric scaling of endocranial volume and body mass in extant primates and Plio-Pleistocene hominids. The figure displays a bivariate plot with two regression slopes through known fossil hominin species and the extant apes. It shows that the early hominin species Ardipithecus ramidus and Australopithecus anamensis may have had a relationship between body mass and endocranial volume (a proxy for brain size) more similar to extant apes with relatively small brains. In contrast, hominins after 3 million years ago show larger endocranial volumes relative to their inferred body mass.

The Evolution of Brain and Body Size in Genus Homo.
TA Monson, AP Weitz, & MF Brasil.
doi.org/10.3390/huma...
"Both small-bodied Homo floresiensis and Homo naledi have endocranial volumes (ECVs) that are consistent with their body size given the scaling relationship that characterizes genus Homo."

Cognitive primitives of the insect brain Understanding the mechanistic basis of human cognition is likely to benefit from investigating how it emerged through evolution. We propose that identifying and investigating fundamental brain functio...

Little smart critters..🪰🐝🐜
Cognitive primitives of the insect brain: Trends in Cognitive Sciences www.cell.com/trends/cogni...

‘The Fox, the Shrew, and You: How Brains Evolved,’ an excerpt In his new book, Rogier Mars provides a detailed account of animal and human brain evolution. In this excerpt from Chapter 1, he starts with the sea squirt—and why it needs the brain it eats after its...

‘The Fox, the Shrew, and You: How Brains Evolved,’ an excerpt www.thetransmitter.org/evolution/th...

Chimpanzee calls trigger unique brain activity in humans, revealing shared vocal processing skills The brain doesn't just recognize the human voice. A study by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) shows that certain areas of our auditory cortex respond specifically to the vocalizations of chimpanzees, ...

Chimpanzee calls trigger unique brain activity in humans, revealing shared vocal processing skills phys.org/news/2025-12...

'Making sense of vertebrate senses from a neural crest and cranial placode evo-devo perspective'

by Brittany Edens & Marianne Bronner

www.cell.com/trends/neuro...

Cortical evolution is hard because it sits at the intersection of:
developmental biology
systems neuroscience
genomics
comparative anatomy
𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 #𝗖𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀
Come join our conference! Bilbao, June 15-17 2026

a hamster is standing on its hind legs and looking at the camera . ALT: a hamster is standing on its hind legs and looking at the camera .

Third, 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.
Much of what we call “fundamental” may simply reflect rodent biology.
Comparative neurobiology forces us to re-evaluate what is truly conserved, 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭.
#CorticalEvolution2026

Second, ᴅᴇᴠᴇʟᴏᴘᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴏʟᴜᴛɪᴏɴ ᴀʀᴇ ɪɴꜱᴇᴘᴀʀᴀʙʟᴇ ⛓️.
Small changes in progenitor behavior, timing, or lineage relationships can scale into large architectural differences.
The difficulty is linking molecular changes to macroscopic structure.

First, the cortex changes along multiple axes at once:
size, folding, cell-type diversity, connectivity, developmental timing.
𝙉𝙤 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙫𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨.
Expansion alone is not the answer.
#CorticalEvolution2026

𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 sounds straightforward:
compare species, identify differences, explain them.
In reality, it 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
𝘞𝘩𝘺?
#CorticalEvolution2026

We review studies showing that when brain areas face similar computational demands in social and non-social context, they perform the same computations. We argue that exaptation (repurposing of traits for new functions) played a key role in brain evolution.

Computational origins of cortical brain circuits for social cognition - Nature Reviews Neuroscience Brain activity in regions traditionally linked to social cognition in primates also supports analogous computational demands in non-social contexts. In this Perspective, Mahmoodi and Rushworth examine...

Computational origins of cortical brain circuits for social cognition — a Perspective article by Ali Mahmoodi & Matthew F. S. Rushworth

@alimahmoodi.bsky.social

#neuroscience #neuroskyence

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Anatomic & functional brain atlases: connecting functional flexibility with fixed infrastructure - Brain Structure and Function Brain Structure and Function - Recent advancements in imaging across scales has propelled the development of anatomic brain atlases reflecting a wide range of cellular properties. It’s...

It's important to note that when discussing brain structure-function relationships across scales, that the definition of function changes with scale. Keep it straight! @sbe.bsky.social link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Neuroscience has a species problem If neuroscience is serious about building general principles of brain function, cross-species dialogue must become a core organizing principle.

Neuroscience has a species problem www.thetransmitter.org/animal-model...

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗼.
To bring together evolutionary, developmental and systems perspectives and to rethink where the field is going next.
June 15–17, 2026 Spain
#CorticalEvolution2026

Importantly, cortical evolution is not just about the past.
Many vulnerabilities of the human brain, from developmental disorders to psychiatric disease, may be inseparable from the evolutionary trajectories that shaped cortical expansion and complexity.

We now describe the cortex in extraordinary detail:
cell types, layers, gene expression, developmental programs.
Yet description alone doesn’t explain why the cortex is built the way it is — or why evolution took such different paths in different lineages.
#CorticalEvolution2026

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘄?
Because many of the biggest open questions in neuroscience still revolve around the cerebral cortex — how it emerged, expanded, diversified, and why it differs so much across species.
#CorticalEvolution2026

Fig 2 Top: digital reconstructions of the skulls of (A) American White Ibis (Eudocimus albus skull ROM112456), and (B) Apteribis sp. (USNMPAL377837), with azure circle highlighting the orbit and green segment highlighting the optic foramen. Bottom: endocasts of (C) Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), (D) Apteribis sp., (E) Hadada Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash), (F) Sharp-tailed Ibis (Cercibis oxycerca), (G) American White Ibis (Eudocimus albus), (H) Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita), (I) Madagascar Ibis (Lophotibis cristata), (J) Green Ibis (Mesembrinibis cayennensis), (K) Crested Ibis (Nipponia nippon), (L) Bare-faced Ibis (Phimosus infuscatus), (M) White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi), (N) Red-naped Ibis (Pseudibis papillosa), (O) Black-faced Ibis (Theristicus melanopis), and (P) Straw-necked Ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis). The green-marked brain region highlights the optic lobe. Note the reduced optic system of Apteribis for all three traits: orbits, optic foramen, and optic lobes.

" This study provides the first quantitative evidence for the evolution of a kiwi-like niche for a #bird outside New Zealand, and emphasizes the remarkable diversity of #avian lifestyles lost due to #anthropogenic impact..."
ICB's
Sara Citron et al
doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

CORTICAL EVOLUTION CONFERENCE June 15-17, 2026 Organizers: Verónica Martínez Cerdeño, Fernando García Moreno, Elena Vecino, and Stephen Noctor. https://ventricular.org/corticalevolution26/ Topic: The Cortical Evolution symposium will promote the dissemination of novel ideas and concepts to shed light on evolution of the mammalian cerebral cortex. The goal of this conference is to further our understanding of factors involved in cortical evolution that are relevant for human brain function under normal and pathological conditions. Experts from prestigious research universities in the Americas, Europe, and Africa will present their most recent findings at the meeting. 150 faculty, students, and interested parties are expected. Attendees will have the opportunity to present their work in poster format, and six abstract submissions will be selected for a short oral presentation. The meeting will be organized into topical 5 sessions: Cortical Development Cortical Evolution Evolution of Cellular Types Evolution of Cortex and Behavior Paleoanthropology

CORTICAL EVOLUTION CONFERENCE
June 15-17, 2026
Organizers: Verónica Martínez Cerdeño, Fernando García Moreno, Elena Vecino, and Stephen Noctor.
ventricular.org/corticalevol...

Intelligence Evolved at Least Twice in Vertebrate Animals | Quanta Magazine Complex neural circuits likely arose independently in birds and mammals, suggesting that vertebrates evolved intelligence multiple times.

“A bird with a 10-gram brain is doing pretty much the same as a chimp with a 400-gram brain,” said Onur Güntürkün, who studies brain structures at Ruhr University Bochum in Germany. “How is it possible?”

A wide format photo of a small multicoloured parrot, a species known as a mulga parrot, perched at the end of a long branch with the background blurred. At the top of the image it says: "Why study bird brains?"

Anyone in the #Lethbridge area, I will be giving a public talk this week to address the question I get the most: Why study bird brains? I will discuss how studying bird brains led to some major discoveries and helps us understand bird behaviour.
#yql #birds #Alberta
www.sacpa.ca/why-study-bi...

🤩 Join us for the next TIBBE seminar:
Comparative databasing
January 28, 3–4pm UTC

This event hosts an outstanding neuroscientist & biologist particularly interested in insect brains who will present his work, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience: www.crowdcast.io/c/comparativ...

Stanley Heinz on comparing insect connectomes