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From brain to endocast: Contrasting Magnetic Resonance Imagining and Computerized Tomography in paleoneurology

De l’encéphale à l’endocaste : comparaison des techniques d’Imagerie par Résonance Magnétique et de Tomodensitométrie en paléoneurologie
Riccardo Frittitta, Antonio Profico et Julie Arnaud

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1Paleoneurology, a discipline within palaeoanthropology, aims to reconstruct the brains of extinct hominids using fossilized cranial remains. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computerized Tomography (CT scan) represent two distinct methodologies utilized in paleoneurology, each offering unique insights into ancient brain size, morphology, and variability. MRI is a non-invasive imaging technique and provides high-resolution images of soft tissues in living organisms, enabling researchers to explore brain anatomy and function in vivo. In contrast, endocast imaging (through CT scan) involves the creation of digital casts of the brain’s inner surface from fossilised crania, offering insights into brain morphology and evolution across different species. While MRI facilitates real-time imaging and dynamic analysis of brain structures, endocast imaging provides static representations of brain morphology, primarily constrained by the quality and preservation of fossil specimens. Despite their disparities, both techniques play focal roles in advancing our understanding of brain evolution and adaptation in extinct organisms, underscoring the importance of integrating multiple imaging modalities in paleoneurological research. This work aims to delineate and present the preliminary results regarding fundamental disparities between MRI and endocast imaging modalities, focusing on their principles, applications, and limitations. Using a new methodological approach, this study employed data from MRI and CT scans of 37 living modern humans. By applying principles of virtual anthropology, 16 anatomical landmark points (Type I) were delineated to primarily analyze correlations between endocast and corresponding brain morphologies, through Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Partial Least Squares (PLS). This approach offers insights into the relationship between cranial morphology and brain structure, shedding light on patterns of variation.

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Riccardo Frittitta, Antonio Profico et Julie Arnaud, « From brain to endocast: Contrasting Magnetic Resonance Imagining and Computerized Tomography in paleoneurology »Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris [En ligne], 37(S) | 2025, mis en ligne le 16 janvier 2025, consulté le 13 février 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/14889 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/133of

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Auteurs

Riccardo Frittitta

Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italia ; frtrcr[at]unife.it

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Antonio Profico

Dipartimento di Biología, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italia

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Julie Arnaud

Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italia ; UMR 7194 – Histoire Naturelle de l’Homme Préhistorique (HNHP), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Département Homme et Environnement, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France

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Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.

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