Event:

Identifying the genetic changes responsible for the phenotypic differences between humans and their close primate relatives is important from an evolutionary, medical and cultural perspective. The primary challenge facing researchers today, after analyzing the genomic data, is experimentally testing hypotheses concerning the genetic basis for human-specific traits. Similar to studying mutations in a biomedical context, mouse models are indispensable for such an endeavour, especially if the traits of interest are embedded in a complex developmental context as is the case for brain functions. I will present recent progress made on a mouse modelling human amino acid changes in the speech and language associated transcription factor FOXP2 and I will also touch upon mouse models for human-specific properties of ASPM, a gene associated with primary microcephaly.