ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences2011
Evo-devo, deep homology and FoxP2: implications for the evolution of speech and language.
Review in Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 122 citations in OpenAlex.
- Inference of Autism Risk Genes Through Comparative Sociogenomics and Molecular Network Analysis.Genes · 2026Article
- The prefrontal operculum, a human-specific hub for the cognitive control of speech.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Insights into Convergent Evolution From Studying Amino Acid Patterns in Independent Lineages of Birds.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Genomic Investigations of Spoken and Written Language Abilities: A Guide to Advances in Approaches, Technologies, and Discovery.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR · 2025Review
- Harmony in the Molecular Orchestra of Hearing: Developmental Mechanisms from the Ear to the Brain.Annual review of neuroscience · 2024Review
- The Development of Speaking and Singing in Infants May Play a Role in Genomics and Dementia in Humans.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- The relevance of the unique anatomy of the human prefrontal operculum to the emergence of speech.Communications biology · 2023Article
- Linking the genomic signatures of human beat synchronization and learned song in birds.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Genetic Mechanisms Underlying Cortical Evolution in Mammals.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Review
- An Etiological Foxp2 Mutation Impairs Neuronal Gain in Layer VI Cortico-Thalamic Cells through Increased GABAThe Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2020Article
- The Promoter Regions of Intellectual Disability-Associated Genes Are Uniquely Enriched in LTR Sequences of the MER41 Primate-Specific Endogenous Retrovirus: An Evolutionary Connection Between Immunity and Cognition.Frontiers in genetics · 2019Article
- circ-SHKBP1 Regulates the Angiogenesis of U87 Glioma-Exposed Endothelial Cells through miR-544a/FOXP1 and miR-379/FOXP2 Pathways.Molecular therapy. Nucleic acids · 2018Article
- Ancestral Variations of the PCDHG Gene Cluster Predispose to Dyslexia in a Multiplex Family.EBioMedicine · 2018Article
- Is the Capacity for Vocal Learning in Vertebrates Rooted in Fish Schooling Behavior?Evolutionary biology · 2018Review
- FOXP2 variation in great ape populations offers insight into the evolution of communication skills.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Constructive anthropomorphism: a functional evolutionary approach to the study of human-like cognitive mechanisms in animals.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2017Article
- MicroRNAs as regulators and mediators of forkhead box transcription factors function in human cancers.Oncotarget · 2017Review
- Evolution of language: Lessons from the genome.Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2017Article
- Empirical approaches to the study of language evolution.Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2017Review
- What bats have to say about speech and language.Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The evolution of novel morphological features, such as feathers, involves the modification of developmental processes regulated by gene networks. The fact that genetic novelty operates within developmental constraints is the central tenet of the 'evo-devo' conceptual framework. It is supported by findings that certain molecular regulatory pathways act in a similar manner in the development of morphological adaptations, which are not directly related by common ancestry but evolved convergently. The Pax6 gene, important for vision in molluscs, insects and vertebrates, and Hox genes, important for tetrapod limbs and fish fins, exemplify this 'deep homology'. Recently, 'evo-devo' has expanded to the molecular analysis of behavioural traits, including social behaviour, learning and memory. Here, we apply this approach to the evolution of human language. Human speech is a form of auditory-guided, learned vocal motor behaviour that also evolved in certain species of birds, bats and ocean mammals. Genes relevant for language, including the transcription factor FOXP2, have been identified. We review evidence that FoxP2 and its regulatory gene network shapes neural plasticity in cortico-basal ganglia circuits underlying the sensory-guided motor learning in animal models. The emerging picture can help us understand how complex cognitive traits can 'descend with modification'.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.