Lisa Parr, a researcher at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University, finds that the brains of chimps trying to identify faces show activity in the same areas of the brain that humans show doing the same activity.

In the study, the researchers examined brain activity (as reflected by blood sugar metabolism) in five chimpanzees by using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans. (Parr noted that the Yerkes National Primate Research Center is the only center of its kind to have on-site MRI, PET, and cyclotron facilities, making studies like Parr's possible.) The chimps were shown three faces, two of which were identical, while the third was of a different chimp. Subjects were then asked to indicate the faces that matched. In other trials, the chimpanzees did the same matching task with clip art images.

The imaging studies revealed significant face-selective activity in brain regions known to make up the distributed cortical face-processing network in humans. Further study showed distinct patches of activity in a region known as the fusiform gyrus—the primary site of face-selective activity in humans—when chimps observed faces.

The researchers concluded that the brain regions that are active during facial recognition may represent part of a distributed neural system for face processing in chimpanzees, like that proposed in humans, in which the initial visual analysis of faces activates regions in the occipital and temporal lobes of the cerebral cortex (a portion of the brain involved in memory, attention, and perceptual awareness) followed by additional processing in the fusiform gyrus and other regions.

Many like to think we are unique and different from all the other animal species on the planet. But while some parts of our brains are more complex the similarities are pretty extensive. Makes sense when you think about it: Chimps have mostly the same senses and appendages. They need to solve many of the same basic problems with sensory input processing.

Comparisons of genetic sequences will lead to identification of genetic differences that cause cognitive differences. Once we identify some of those differences gene therapy will provide a way to introduce human genetic variations into chimp embryos. That's when things get really interesting. How many human genetic sequences will genetic hackers of the future need to add to chimps to make them able to score 100 on an IQ test? Some of us are going to live long enough to find out.

What I want to know: once scientists discover the genetic causes of psychopathy will they find that chimps are more like psychopaths or more like the rest of us?