By Dr. Fabiano de Abreu Agrela Rodrigues
Genomics Specialist and Neuroscientist
Craniofacial morphology, often relegated to aesthetics, has informative value for understanding neurodevelopment. In the technical study of the evolution and formation of the human brain, the retracted chin — when inserted into an anatomical set that includes a high forehead, vertical face and proportionally large eyes — acquires an indicative role of a neurofunctional profile that is organized in a distinct way.
This pattern is not speculative. Human neoteny, defined by the prolonged preservation of juvenile characteristics, such as mandibular shortening and globularization of the skull, has direct implications for anterior cortical expansion. The flexion of the skull base, driven by changes in the sphenoid bone, was decisive in accommodating the enlargement of the frontal and temporal lobes, enabling complex functions such as language, emotional self-regulation and social simulation.
In this scenario, the retracted chin is not an isolated trait: it is part of a structural reorganization that favored the projection of the brain over the cranial base. This osteoneurological adaptation not only allowed the specialization of the prefrontal cortex, but also extended the periods of synaptic plasticity, typical of childhood, into adulthood. As a result, the human mind gained time for reorganization and functional sophistication.
Genomic reading reinforces this perspective. The infantilized phenotype, in certain contexts, reflects the activation of markers associated with extended learning, sensory sensitivity, and metacognition. Children with this anatomical profile, when observed in conjunction with behaviors such as early imitation, selective focus, and structured empathy, express patterns of neural organization that are not conventionally visible, but that manifest themselves clearly when analyzed through an interdisciplinary lens.
Therefore, it is not a matter of extracting diagnoses from faces, but of understanding how the body communicates the evolutionary choices of the mind. Shape is not a sentence — it is a code. A code that, if interpreted rigorously, reveals the hidden architecture of a brain that prioritizes adaptation, interaction and cumulative learning.
It is time to recognize that the face also speaks — and, in many cases, speaks even before speech emerges.
Scientific references used:
PETANJEK, Z. et al. Extraordinary neoteny of synaptic spines in the human prefrontal cortex. PNAS, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1105108108
SOMEL, M. et al. Transcriptional neoteny in the human brain. PNAS, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0900544106
LIEBERMAN, DE Sphenoid shortening and the evolution of modern human cranial shape. Nature, 1998. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/30314
LIEBERMAN, DE et al. The evolution and development of cranial form in Homo sapiens. PNAS, 2002. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.022440799
ABREU, F. de AR Psychoconstruction: An innovation in the therapeutic field. Ibero-American Journal of Humanities, Sciences and Education, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.51891/rease.v7i10.2546
ABREU, F. de AR Psychoconstruction is an innovation in the therapeutic field. Ciencia Latina, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v6i1.1735
