Prolonged brain development of marmosets could serve as model for human evolution

Originally published by University of Zurich, on October 30, 2024

As in humans, infants of common marmosets interact with several caregivers from birth and are thus exposed to intensive social interaction. Credit: Judith Burkart/UZH

The development of primate brains is shaped by various inputs. However, these inputs differ between independent breeders, such as great apes, and cooperative breeders, such as the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) and humans. In these species, group members other than the parents contribute substantially to raising the infants from birth onwards.

A group of international researchers led by Paola Cerrito from the University of Zurich's Department of Evolutionary Anthropology studied how such social interactions map onto brain development in common marmosets. The study provides new insights into the relationship between the timing of brain development and the socio-cognitive skills of marmosets, in particular their prosocial and cooperative behaviors.

The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

Original article

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