Origin of human language pathway is 10 million years old.

Research by Newcastle University states that the origin of human language might be at least 20 million years old.

Research by Newcastle University states that the origin of human language might be at least 20 million years old.Previously a precursor of the language pathway was thought by many scientists to have emerged around 5 million years ago. The scientists from Europe and the U.S studied brain imaging and analysis of auditory regions in humans, apes and monkeys. They discovered a segment of this language pathway in the human brain that interconnects the auditory cortex with frontal lobe regions which is important for processing speech and language. Further, the study lead by Professor Chris Petkov from the Faculty of Medical Sciences said that the team was astounded to see a similar pathway hiding in plain sight within the auditory system of nonhuman primates.

The study based on brain scans from shared resources by the global scientific community, the researchers predict that the auditory precursor to the human language pathway might be older and the work will help the neurobiological search for its earliest evolutionary origin, the next brain fossil to be found in animals more distantly related to humans.