FOXP2 and its Role in the Evolution and Development of Language

The question of whether language and its laws are stored in genes (nature) or whether they are purchased in detail interactively (nurture), has occupied philosophers since antiquity. Recent advances in our understanding of molecular biology and genomes facilitate research on the genetic basis of language acquisition. Based on findings in a British family with a speech disorder, the role of the FOXP2 protein for language and articulation was postulated in 2001. Comparing the sequence of the human FOXP2 gene with that of Neandertal man, chimpanzee, zebra finch, bat and mouse, no or very little differences were found. This indicates that complex regulatory networks and social interactions were crucial for the development of human language. Variants of several FOXP2-regulated genes are associated with specific language disorders, autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders and are involved in the complex network that forms the biological prerequisites for language.