据一篇发表在Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences的研究报告，通过对人脑和猴脑功能解剖的比较研究，发现这两者之间大脑网络在进化过程中高度相似。这项研究是由纽约大学朗格尼医学中心的研究人员主持的。
课题组对大脑的楔前页(precuneus)的连接模式研究发现，楔前页实际上可以划分为4个不同的功能区。该研究所采用的研究方法是功能性磁共振成像技术(functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging,fMRI)。
由于楔前叶位于头顶叶内侧部分，因此关于楔前叶的神经影像学以及神经心理学文献相对较少。但是通过近期的脑功能成像研究发现，楔前叶与许多高水平的认知功能有关，如情景记忆，自我相关的信息处理，以及意识的各个方面。
这项发现证实了大脑中高级指令相关区域(higher order association areas)的复发功能结构在进化过程中是高度保守的。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
PNAS November 10, 2009, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0905314106
Precuneus shares intrinsic functional architecture in humans and monkeys
Daniel S. Marguliesa,b, Justin L. Vincentc,d, Clare Kellye, Gabriele Lohmannb, Lucina Q. Uddinf, Bharat B. Biswalg,h, Arno Villringera,b, F. Xavier Castellanose,h, Michael P. Milhame,1 and Michael Petridesi,1
aBerlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt Universit?t, 10099 Berlin, Germany;
bMax Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, 04303 Leipzig, Germany;
cDepartment of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
dAthinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129;
ePhyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience, New York University Child Study Center, New York, NY, 10016;
fDepartment of Psychiatry, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304;
gDepartment of Radiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 07103;
hNathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962; and
iMontreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2B4
Evidence from macaque monkey tracing studies suggests connectivity-based subdivisions within the precuneus, offering predictions for similar subdivisions in the human. Here we present functional connectivity analyses of this region using resting-state functional MRI data collected from both humans and macaque monkeys. Three distinct patterns of functional connectivity were demonstrated within the precuneus of both species, with each subdivision suggesting a discrete functional role: (i) the anterior precuneus, functionally connected with the superior parietal cortex, paracentral lobule, and motor cortex, suggesting a sensorimotor region; (ii) the central precuneus, functionally connected to the dorsolateral prefrontal, dorsomedial prefrontal, and multimodal lateral inferior parietal cortex, suggesting a cognitive/associative region; and (iii) the posterior precuneus, displaying functional connectivity with adjacent visual cortical regions. These functional connectivity patterns were differentiated from the more ventral networks associated with the posterior cingulate, which connected with limbic structures such as the medial temporal cortex, dorsal and ventromedial prefrontal regions, posterior lateral inferior parietal regions, and the lateral temporal cortex. Our findings are consistent with predictions from anatomical tracer studies in the monkey, and provide support that resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) may in part reflect underlying anatomy. These subdivisions within the precuneus suggest that neuroimaging studies will benefit from treating this region as anatomically (and thus functionally) heterogeneous. Furthermore, the consistency between functional connectivity networks in monkeys and humans provides support for RSFC as a viable tool for addressing cross-species comparisons of functional neuroanatomy.
