Gene adds wrinkle to brain development

Some of the human brain’s wrinkles are forged by the behavior of a single gene, scientists report in the Feb. 14 Science.

By scanning more than 1,000 people’s brains, researchers identified five with malformed wrinkles in a specific region. The abnormalities — numerous shallow dips surrounding an unusually wide brain furrow called the Sylvian fissure — were linked with intellectual and language disabilities and seizures in these people.