yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 06/05/2026We would frame this as homologous specialization between these species but not convergent evolution, given the potential dorsal pathway prototype in their common ancestor. More to come! 001 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 06/05/2026Find our new work below! We identified an af homolog in marmosets and its marked similarity with humans in frontal side. Special thanks to the wonderful team that makes this happen!🍻pnas.orgHomologous specialization of arcuate fasciculus ventrolateral frontal connectivity in marmosets and humans | PNASThe arcuate fasciculus (af) is a crucial dorsal pathway underpinning human language, yet its weak frontal connectivity in macaques—the standard pri... 000 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 24/04/202510/ Very grateful to @lingzhongfan.bsky.social LQ Cheng, DY Li, YH Lu, WD Hopkins, CC Sherwood, @tingsterx.bsky.social CR Liu, George Paxinos, TZ Jiang, CY Chu for making this possible! 000 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 24/04/20259/ Our findings suggest the presence of an earlier-emerged dorsal pathway in marmosets that convergently evolved aspects of its connectivity with humans, despite their distant phylogenetic kindship. 100 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 24/04/20258/ In summary, we identified an arcuate fasciculus homolog in marmoset brains that corresponds with those in other primates and found that marmosets exhibited a more similar connection pattern of the af with humans in the vPFC. 100 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 24/04/20257/ Transforming this activation into the marmoset cortex, we also observed overlap in their af connectivity patterns, which was further supported by fMRI and electrophysiological experiments on marmoset vocalizations. 100 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 24/04/20256/ Given the shared features of vocalization between marmosets and humans, we explored the involvement of af in vocal communication. This was supported by the overlap between human “speech” functional activation and af connectivity. 100 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 24/04/20255/ We then examined the cortical connections of the af. Utilizing a large datasets from humans, chimpanzees, macaques, and marmosets, we found that the connection between the af and ventral PFC (A45c) was stronger in marmosets than in macaques. 100 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 24/04/20254/ Following a “1 seed, 2 target” approach, we reconstructed the af and three branches of slf, demonstrating the disambiguation of these tracts in marmosets. 100 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 24/04/20253/ To address the controversy around the existence of the af homologue in marmosets, we collected retrograde and anterograde tracer data, along with ultra-high-resolution dMRI data. Our tracing results revealed clear connections between A45 and AuCM/Tpt via a dorsal pathway. 100 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 24/04/20252/ The marmoset is a highly vocal monkey sharing vocalization features with humans, suggesting a potential neuroanatomical precursor of language. But do marmosets have an arcuate fasciculus (af)? 100 0
yufanwang.bsky.social @yufanwang.bsky.social · 24/04/20251/ Really excited to share our new preprint "Arcuate Fasciculus: Evolutionary Convergence in Marmosets and Humans"! Check it out here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...biorxiv.orgArcuate Fasciculus: Evolutionary Convergence in Marmosets and HumansThe marmoset is a highly vocal platyrrhine monkey that shares key anatomical and functional features with humans, providing a unique opportunity to illuminate the phylogenetic origins of diverging con... 101 0
