Evolution provides an important window into how cortical organization shapes function and vice versa. The complex mosaic of changes in brain morphology and functional organization that have shaped the mammalian cortex during evolution, complicates attempts to chart cortical differences across species. It limits our ability to fully appreciate how evolution has shaped our brain, especially in systems associated with unique human cognitive capabilities that lack anatomical homologues in other species. Here, we develop a function-based method for cross-species alignment that enables the quantification of homologous regions between humans and rhesus macaques, even when their location is decoupled from anatomical landmarks. Critically, we find cross-species similarity in functional organization reflects a gradient of evolutionary change that decreases from unimodal systems and culminates with the most pronounced changes in posterior regions of the default mode network (angular gyrus, posterior cingulate and middle temporal cortices). Our findings suggest that the establishment of the default mode network, as the apex of a cognitive hierarchy, has changed in a complex manner during human evolution - even within subnetworks.

中文翻译：

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跨物种功能对齐揭示了连接组内的进化层次结构


进化为了解皮质组织如何塑造功能提供了一个重要的窗口，反之亦然。在进化过程中，大脑形态和功能组织的复杂变化塑造了哺乳动物的皮层，这使得绘制不同物种皮层差异的尝试变得更加复杂。它限制了我们充分理解进化如何塑造我们的大脑的能力，特别是在与独特的人类认知能力相关的系统中，而这些系统在其他物种中缺乏解剖学同源物。在这里，我们开发了一种基于功能的跨物种比对方法，即使人类和恒河猴之间的同源区域的位置与解剖标志分离，也能够对其进行量化。重要的是，我们发现功能组织的跨物种相似性反映了进化变化的梯度，该梯度从单峰系统开始递减，并以默认模式网络后部区域（角回、后扣带回和中颞皮质）最显着的变化达到顶峰。我们的研究结果表明，作为认知层次的顶点的默认模式网络的建立在人类进化过程中以复杂的方式发生了变化 - 即使在子网络内也是如此。