Specialists of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology with scientists from China have compared changes in the regulation of the work of genes in the brains of humans, macaques and chimpanzees of different ages.

Studies have shown that changes that occur in the human brain throughout life are more than in other primates. The results of the study are published in the RNA journal.

Scientists examined alternative splicing - a process in which the same gene encodes several different proteins. Previous studies showed that alternative splicing changes rapidly in the course of evolution.

"It can be assumed that the observed varieties specific for humans are typical for earlier stages of encephalization and contribute to the brain’s plasticity, which is characteristic for humans”, - Professor Mikhail Gelfand from SkolTech explains.