Hello!

This site includes step-by-step instructions for the methodology I used for my M.Sc. Dissertation at UCL. To follow the methods, please click on the tab Overview of the Methods above. I'm am still in the process of adding the final steps to this site. 

You can view my dissertation on Academia.edu.

Abstract for the study:

Hominin brain evolution is a topic of great interest in paleoanthropology. Details of this evolutionary process are typically inferred from endocasts. However, very little research has been done to quantifiably establish the relationship between an endocast and its corresponding brain. This study investigates this relationship using asymmetry of the entire endocranial surface. As the modern human brain is structurally asymmetric, the results of this study allow for a direct quantitative comparison of this characteristic between the two surfaces. In addition, because important aspects of behavior, such as handedness and language processing, are organized asymmetrically in the brain, it is of great interest to be able to see these same asymmetries on the endocranial surface.

Using innovative geometric morphometric techniques, this study quantified the degree and direction of asymmetry of the entire endocranial surface in adult modern humans. Results indicate the well-known petalia pattern of asymmetry extends beyond the frontal lobe to include the right temporal and anterior parietal regions. In addition to an anterior-posterior and lateral asymmetry, the petalias also differ in superior-inferior distribution. A rightward asymmetry of Broca’s area was found, contradicting previous qualitative reports. A leftward asymmetry of the anterior cerebellum was also found and a rightward asymmetry of the temporal pole, as well as several other subtle asymmetries across the rest of the endocranial surface. The findings are compared with brain asymmetry research and the implications for brain evolution research will be discussed.