3D model of skulls from a modern person and from a neanderthal
Courtesy of kimberly anne plomp
A remarked abnormality compressing the lower brain, which often causes headache and other neurological problems, can be part of our genetic legacy from Neanderthals.
People with Chiari malformations have a small and flat base of the skull around the place where it connects to the spine. As a result, part of the brain – the cerebellum – launched by the spinal ditch in the neck.
Type 1 Chiari malformations, the most gentle form, thought to affect up to 1 of 100 people. They can cause symptoms such as headache, neck pain, apnea sleep and fear, but some people never show signs.
About 15 years ago, Yveens Barbosa FernandesA Neurosurgeon at the State University of Campinas in Brazil, which is the basis of the Chiari patients, especially in the mild museums of the occopital bone, where the cerebellum is resting. While Neandererthal brains are larger than modern people ‘, they are more from the forehead and the entire basis, they are given a flat form compared to the rounder forms of modern skulls.
In 2013, Barbosa Fernandes Published a hypothesis It is recommended that the shape of Chiari Skull may be inherited from the stopped people talking Homo Sapiens. “I began to think that there was a lost connection between anthroropology and medicine in Chiari cases,” he said.
Inspired by this proposal, Kimberly plomp At the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City and his colleagues build digital 3D models of 46 people with no chiar scans. Their elaborate math analysis confirmed that the affected affected by Chiari had a small occipital bone with a flat brain compression on the wall where cerebellums were seated.
Next, the team checks how modern skulls are compared to digital models of eight fossil heads from Homo Neanderthalensis,, Person alert,, Man heidebergensis and ancient Homo Sapiens.
They know that the basics of neanderthhal skulls with many measures of modern people with Chiari, while all the ancient cranial people without Chiari. “It emphasizes the idea that it is Neanderthal traits – not just HEART Qualities, “he said.” It is as if the Neandererthal genes can influence our health – and in this case, in a negative way. “
For Barbosa Fernandes, study provides strong evidence to support his theory. “It makes sense: If you have a little bit of darkness, you have little space for the modern human brain,” he said. “I don’t have science to prove my hypothesis. This paper is a big step closer to that proof.”
As a next step, the team hopes to analyze the DNA of people with Chiari malformations to look for the neanderthhal gene, Ploma said.
Other types of Chiari malformations – types 2 to 4 – thought to have different reasons. Type 2 is linked to a severe form of Spina Bifida, while types 3 and 4 are very unique and can threaten life.
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