Doctoral Dissertation Research: Functional myology of the primate head and neck with implications for hominin evolution

博士论文研究：灵长类动物头部和颈部的功能性肌肉学对古人类进化的影响

• 批准号: 1919475
• 负责人: Carol Ward
• 金额: $ 0.86万
• 依托单位: University of Missouri-Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-08-15 至 2022-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1919475&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Functional; myology

Humans have unique upright body posture and related anatomy, but paleontologists are not certain when these features first appeared in the hominin lineage. The aim of this doctoral research project is to functionally describe the anatomy of the primate neck to understand how differences in the neck are related to head posture, body posture, and locomotion in primates. The project will provide data that may be used for inferring when a human-like neck first appeared and how this anatomical change was associated with environmental, behavioral and biological factors. This study will employ a combination of 3D anatomical methods including CT scanning, digital muscle fascicle tracking, and biomechanical modeling, which will serve as training tools for future researchers and health care professionals. The 3D models generated in this study will be used in K-12 science education and outreach events for discussing human anatomy and primate conservation.The objective of this study is to both characterize and quantify neck muscle anatomy in primates with different habitual body postures and locomotor behaviors. Using a biomechanical framework, the project will compare functional differences in neck musculature that are key for behaviors such as holding up the head and movement of the arms during suspension. Novel techniques including contrast-enhanced computed tomography, muscle fascicle tracking software, and 3D lever mechanics will be used to develop biomechanical models of how variation in muscle size, shape, and distribution is related to postural and locomotor behavior across primates. These biomechanical models will be applied to fossil hominins (Australopithecus sediba and Homo neanderthalensis) to interpret their neck anatomy and posture to more accurately understand and reconstruct their behaviors.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

人类具有独特的直立身体姿势和相关的解剖结构，但是古生物学家不确定这些特征何时首次出现在人类谱系中。该博士研究项目的目的是在功能上描述灵长类动物颈部的解剖结构，以了解颈部的差异如何与灵长类动物的头部姿势，身体姿势和运动有关。该项目将提供可能用于推断人类颈部的数据，以及这种解剖学变化与环境，行为和生物学因素如何相关。这项研究将采用3D解剖方法的组合，包括CT扫描，数字肌肉筋膜跟踪和生物力学建模，这些方法将为未来的研究人员和医疗保健专业人员提供培训工具。本研究中产生的3D模型将用于K-12科学教育和外展活动，以讨论人类的解剖结构和灵长类动物的保护。本研究的目的是在具有不同习惯性身体姿势和运动行为的灵长类动物中表征和量化颈部肌肉解剖结构。使用生物力学框架，该项目将比较颈部肌肉的功能差异，这些功能差异是行为的关键，例如在悬架过程中抬起头部和手臂的运动。新型技术包括对比增强的计算机断层扫描，肌肉束跟踪软件和3D杠杆力学，以开发出生物力学模型，以了解肌肉大小，形状和分布如何与灵长类动物之间的姿势和运动行为有关。这些生物力学模型将应用于化石人类（Australopithecus Sediba和Homo Neanderthalensis），以解释其颈部解剖结构和姿势，以更准确地理解和重建其行为。这奖反映了NSF的法规任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识效果和广泛的评估来进行评估，这是值得通过评估来进行评估的。