Early brain growth cessation in wild virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei)

Shannon C. Mcfarlin; Sarah K. Barks; Matthew W. Tocheri; Jason S. Massey; Amandine B. Eriksen; Katie A. Fawcett; Tara S. Stoinski; Patrick R. Hof; Timothy G. Bromage; Antoine Mudakikwa; Michael R. Cranfield; Chet C. Sherwood

doi:10.1002/ajp.22100

Early brain growth cessation in wild virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei)

Shannon C. Mcfarlin, Sarah K. Barks, Matthew W. Tocheri, Jason S. Massey, Amandine B. Eriksen, Katie A. Fawcett, Tara S. Stoinski, Patrick R. Hof, Timothy G. Bromage, Antoine Mudakikwa, Michael R. Cranfield, Chet C. Sherwood

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41 Scopus citations

Abstract

Understanding the life history correlates of ontogenetic differences in hominoid brain growth requires information from multiple species. At present, however, data on how brain size changes over the course of development are only available from chimpanzees and modern humans. In this study, we examined brain growth in wild Virunga mountain gorillas using data derived from necropsy reports (N = 34) and endocranial volume (EV) measurements (N = 86). The youngest individual in our sample was a 10-day-old neonatal male with a brain mass of 208 g, representing 42% of the adult male average. Our results demonstrate that Virunga mountain gorillas reach maximum adult-like brain mass by 3-4 years of age; adult-sized EV is reached by the time the first permanent molars emerge. This is in contrast to the pattern observed in chimpanzees, which despite their smaller absolute brain size, reportedly attain adult brain mass approximately 1 year later than Virunga mountain gorillas. Our findings demonstrate that brain growth is completed early in Virunga mountain gorillas compared to other great apes studied thus far, in a manner that appears to be linked with other life history characteristics of this population. Am. J. Primatol. 75:450-463, 2013.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	450-463
Number of pages	14
Journal	American Journal of Primatology
Volume	75
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22100
State	Published - May 2013

Keywords

Brain growth
Life history
Mountain gorillas

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10.1002/ajp.22100

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Mcfarlin, S. C., Barks, S. K., Tocheri, M. W., Massey, J. S., Eriksen, A. B., Fawcett, K. A., Stoinski, T. S., Hof, P. R., Bromage, T. G., Mudakikwa, A., Cranfield, M. R., & Sherwood, C. C. (2013). Early brain growth cessation in wild virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). American Journal of Primatology, 75(5), 450-463. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.22100

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abstract = "Understanding the life history correlates of ontogenetic differences in hominoid brain growth requires information from multiple species. At present, however, data on how brain size changes over the course of development are only available from chimpanzees and modern humans. In this study, we examined brain growth in wild Virunga mountain gorillas using data derived from necropsy reports (N = 34) and endocranial volume (EV) measurements (N = 86). The youngest individual in our sample was a 10-day-old neonatal male with a brain mass of 208 g, representing 42% of the adult male average. Our results demonstrate that Virunga mountain gorillas reach maximum adult-like brain mass by 3-4 years of age; adult-sized EV is reached by the time the first permanent molars emerge. This is in contrast to the pattern observed in chimpanzees, which despite their smaller absolute brain size, reportedly attain adult brain mass approximately 1 year later than Virunga mountain gorillas. Our findings demonstrate that brain growth is completed early in Virunga mountain gorillas compared to other great apes studied thus far, in a manner that appears to be linked with other life history characteristics of this population. Am. J. Primatol. 75:450-463, 2013.",

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AU - Hof, Patrick R.

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AU - Cranfield, Michael R.

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AB - Understanding the life history correlates of ontogenetic differences in hominoid brain growth requires information from multiple species. At present, however, data on how brain size changes over the course of development are only available from chimpanzees and modern humans. In this study, we examined brain growth in wild Virunga mountain gorillas using data derived from necropsy reports (N = 34) and endocranial volume (EV) measurements (N = 86). The youngest individual in our sample was a 10-day-old neonatal male with a brain mass of 208 g, representing 42% of the adult male average. Our results demonstrate that Virunga mountain gorillas reach maximum adult-like brain mass by 3-4 years of age; adult-sized EV is reached by the time the first permanent molars emerge. This is in contrast to the pattern observed in chimpanzees, which despite their smaller absolute brain size, reportedly attain adult brain mass approximately 1 year later than Virunga mountain gorillas. Our findings demonstrate that brain growth is completed early in Virunga mountain gorillas compared to other great apes studied thus far, in a manner that appears to be linked with other life history characteristics of this population. Am. J. Primatol. 75:450-463, 2013.

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Early brain growth cessation in wild virunga mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei)

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Keywords

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