Interaction Between Environmental Temperature and Craniofacial Morphology in Human Evolution: A Focus on Upper Airway
Résumé
The development of the human craniofacial skeleton results from the complex interaction of genetic, physiological, biomechanical, and environmental influences. Among environmental influences, air temperature has been identified as a factor impacting craniofacial morphology, particularly the upper airway. According to whether they live in warm or cold environments, humans tend to display different morphological features in this anatomical region: in cold environments, the nasal cavity is, for example, reduced mediolaterally and increased anteroposteriorly and superoinferiorly. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the current knowledge of temperature-related morphological variation of nasal and paranasal structures and to explore the temperature-sensitive developmental pathways that might have a role in this variation. We begin with the knowledge that temperature both directly and indirectly affects bone formation, directly by altering the activity of preosteoblast cells, bone-forming osteoblasts, and bone-resorbing osteoclasts, and indirectly by inducing proteins or hormones (e.g., heat shock proteins, clock genes, thyroid hormones, leptin) involved in the activity of bone cells. Here, we provide a review of the literature that could inspire novel approaches to improve our understanding of the role of these mechanisms in human evolution.
Domaines
Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)