Cole Michael W, Yeung Nick, Freiwald Winrich A, Botvinick Matthew
Psychology Department, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA.
Trends Neurosci. 2009 Nov;32(11):566-74. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2009.07.001. Epub 2009 Sep 24.
Cognitive neuroscience research relies, in part, on homologies between the brains of human and non-human primates. A quandary therefore arises when presumed anatomical homologues exhibit different functional properties. Such a situation has recently arisen in the case of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In humans, numerous studies suggest a role for ACC in detecting conflicts in information processing. Studies of macaque monkey ACC, in contrast, have failed to find conflict-related responses. We consider several interpretations of this discrepancy, including differences in research methodology and cross-species differences in functional neuroanatomy. New directions for future research are outlined, emphasizing the importance of distinguishing illusory cross-species differences from the true evolutionary differences that make our species unique.
认知神经科学研究部分依赖于人类和非人类灵长类动物大脑之间的同源性。因此，当假定的解剖学同源物表现出不同的功能特性时，就会出现一个难题。最近，前扣带皮层（ACC）的情况就出现了这种局面。在人类中，大量研究表明ACC在检测信息处理中的冲突方面发挥作用。相比之下，对猕猴ACC的研究未能发现与冲突相关的反应。我们考虑了对这种差异的几种解释，包括研究方法的差异和功能性神经解剖学的跨物种差异。概述了未来研究的新方向，强调了区分虚幻的跨物种差异与使我们人类物种独一无二的真正进化差异的重要性。
