Biology subjects

Antonio Benitez-Burraco

Publications and source records attributed to Antonio Benitez-Burraco.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2016

Schizophrenia and human self-domestication: a linguistic approach

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder entailing social and cognitive deficits, including marked problems with language. Its complex multifactorial etiopathogenesis, including genetic and environmental factors, is still widely uncertain. SZ incidence has always been high and quite stable in human populations, across time and regardless of cultural implications, due to unclear reasons. It has been hypothesised that SZ pathophysiology may involve the biological components that changed during the recent human evolutionary history and led to our distinctive mode of cognition, which includes language skills. In this paper we explore this possibility, focusing on the self-domestication of the human species. This has been claimed to account for many human-specific distinctive traits, including aspects of our behaviour and cognition, and to favour the emergence of complex languages through cultural evolution. The \"domestication syndrome\" in mammals comprises the constellation of traits exhibited by domesticated strains, seemingly resulting from the hypofunction of the neural crest. It is our intention to show that people with SZ exhibit more marked domesticated traits at the morphological, physiological, and behavioural levels. We also show that genes involved in domestication and neural crest development and function comprise nearly 20% SZ candidates, most of which exhibit altered expression profiles in the brain of SZ patients, specifically in areas involved in language processing. Based on these observations, we conclude that SZ may represent an abnormal ontogenetic itinerary for the human faculty of language, resulting, at least in part, from changes in genes important for the \"domestication syndrome\" and, primarily involving the neural crest.

Neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2016

Functional genetic characterization by CRISPR-Cas9 of two enhancers of FOXP2 in a child with speech and language impairment

Mutations in the coding region of FOXP2 are known to cause speech and language impairment. Microdeletions involving the region downstream the gene have been also associated to speech and cognitive deficits. We recently described a girl harbouring a complex chromosomal rearrangement with one breakpoint downstream the gene that might affect her speech and cognitive abilities via physical separation of distant regulatory DNA elements. In this study, we have used highly efficient targeted chromosomal deletions induced by the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing tool to demonstrate the functionality of two enhancers, FOXP2-Eproximal and FOXP2-Edistal, located in the intergenic region between FOXP2 and its adjacent MDFIC gene. Deletion of any of these two functional enhancers in the neuroblastomic cell line SK-N-MC downregulates FOXP2 and decreases FOXP2 protein levels, conversely it upregulates MDFIC and increases MDFIC protein levels. This suggests that both regulatory elements may be shared between FOXP2 and MDFIC. We expect these findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how FOXP2 and MDFIC are regulated to pace neuronal development supporting speech and language.

Molecular Biology↗

bioRxiv2016

Language impairment resulting from a de novo deletion of 7q32.1-q33: a case report

Chromosome 7 is a hot spot for cognitive disorders involving language deficits. We report on a girl who presents with a cognitive and speech delay, motor problems, hearing loss, and behavioral disturbances, and a de novo deletion within 7q32.1-q33 (chromosome position: chr7:127109685-132492196, hg 18). Several genes involved in brain development and function are located within the deleted region. Many of them are related to developmental disorders encompassing language deficits (dyslexia, speech-sound disorder, and autism). The probands phenotype may result from a change in the expression level of some of these genes.

Neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2016

Language impairments in ASD resulting from a failed domestication of the human brain

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are pervasive neurodevelopmental disorders entailing social and cognitive deficits, including marked problems with language. Numerous genes have been associated with ASD, but it is unclear how language deficits arise from gene mutation or dysregulation. It is also unclear why ASD shows such high prevalence within human populations. Interestingly, the emergence of a modern faculty of language has been hypothesised to be linked to changes in the human brain/skull, but also to the process of self-domestication of the human species. It is our intention to show that people with ASD exhibit less marked domesticated traits at the morphological, physiological, and behavioural levels. We also discuss many ASD candidates represented among the genes known to be involved in the domestication syndrome (the constellation of traits exhibited by domesticated mammals, which seemingly results from the hypofunction of the neural crest) and among the set of genes involved in language function closely connected to them. Moreover, many of these genes show altered expression profiles in the brain of autists. In addition, some candidates for domestication and language-readiness show the same expression profile in people with ASD and chimps in different brain areas involved in language processing. Similarities regarding the brain oscillatory behaviour of these areas can be expected too. We conclude that ASD may represent an abnormal ontogenetic itinerary for the human faculty of language resulting in part from changes in genes important for the domestication syndrome and, ultimately, from the normal functioning of the neural crest.

Neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2016

Language deficits in schizophrenia and autism as related oscillatory connectomopathies: an evolutionary account

Schizophrenia (SZ) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterised by marked language deficits, but it is not clear how these arise from gene mutations associated with the disorders. Our goal is to narrow the gap between SZ and ASD and, ultimately, give support to the view that they represent abnormal (but related) ontogenetic itineraries for the human faculty of language. We will focus on the distinctive oscillatory profiles of the SZ and ASD brains, in turn using these insights to refine our understanding of how the brain computes language by exploring a novel model of linguistic feature-set composition. We will argue that brain rhythms constitute the best route to interpreting language deficits in both conditions and mapping them to neural dysfunction and risk alleles of the genes. Importantly, candidate genes for SZ and ASD are overrepresented among the gene sets believed to be important for language evolution. This translational effort may help develop an understanding of the aetiology of SZ and ASD and their high prevalence among modern populations.

Neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2016

Bridging the gap between genes and language deficits in schizophrenia: an oscillopathic approach

Schizophrenia is characterised by marked language deficits, but it is not clear how these deficits arise from gene mutations linked to or associated with the disease. The goal of this paper is to aid the bridging of the gap between genes and schizophrenia and, ultimately, give support to the view that it represents an abnormal ontogenetic itinerary for the human faculty of language, heavily rooted in the evolutionary processes that brought about modern language. To that end we will focus on how the schizophrenia brain processes language and, particularly, on its distinctive oscillatory profile during language processing: We will argue that brain rhythms constitute the best route to interpret language deficits in this condition and map them to neural dysfunction and risk alleles of the genes. Additionally, we will show that candidate genes for schizophrenia are overrepresented among the set of genes that are believed are important for the evolution of human language. These genes crucially include (and are related to) genes involved in brain rhythmicity. We will claim that this translational effort and the links we uncover may help develop an understanding of language evolution, along with the aetiology of schizophrenia, its clinical/linguistic profile, and its high prevalence among modern populations.

Neuroscience↗