The human-specific gene FRMPD2B couples postnatal experience to the expansion of cortical connectivity
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E. Christopoulou, J. Zamith, P. Bonadonna, M. Rivero Romano, M. Vaudin, W. Nguyen et al. · DOI: 10.64898/2026.10.30.763086 · Summary page
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A human-specific gene responds to experience
Human cortical development leaves an unusually long window for experience to shape connections. A preprint identifies FRMPD2B, a human-specific gene, as a possible contributor to that flexibility. The gene is expressed mainly in neurons that connect cortical regions, during postnatal development and childhood. Experiments found that it promoted dendrite, axon and synapse development and was required for proper morphology in human cortical neurons transplanted into another species.
Its expression also responded in both directions to neuronal activity and experience. The researchers traced this responsiveness to promoter remodelling by a retrotransposon insertion after the gene arose through partial duplication. That supplies a concrete example of how evolutionary changes can modify not just what a gene does, but when experience recruits it. The work connects gene regulation to circuit development; it does not directly demonstrate an effect on human cognitive abilities.
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