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Researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford have put forth an intriguing theory that the placenta and the hormones it creates may have been very important in the development of the human brain and the traits that have allowed human societies to grow and thrive.
The researchers said that small changes in the levels of steroid hormones in the womb, like testosterone and estrogen, can predict how quickly babies learn social and cognitive skills and even how likely they are to have conditions like autism. This made the researchers think about how they might be important for human evolution.
One possible reason for the evolution of the human brain is how humans learned to be sociable. The researchers knew for many years that living in bigger, more complicated social groups makes the brain bigger. However, the mechanisms that might link these behavioral and physical adaptations in humans remain unidentified.
In their recent publication in Evolutionary Anthropology, scientists suggest that the mechanism may reside in prenatal sex steroid hormones, such as testosterone or estrogens, and their impact on brain development and behavior in humans.
Sources:
The placental steroid hypothesis of human brain evolution, Evolutionary Anthropology Issues News and Reviews (2025). DOI: 10.1002/evan.70003
Placenta and hormone levels in the womb may have been key drivers in human brain evolution. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-placenta-hormone-womb-key-drivers.html
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