Lipid metabolism, human evolution and schizophrenia.

There are only small genetic differences between humans and the great apes. Yet these differences must be very important. Major known differences include the accumulation of subcutaneous fat, the expansion of breasts and buttocks, the growth of the brain and the connectivity of neurons. All these involve lipid metabolism yet, because fat leaves no fossils, lipids are rarely mentioned in discussions of human evolution. This paper attempts to identify some candidate areas of lipid metabolism which may be important in human evolution. It draws attention to abnormalities in phospholipid metabolism in schizophrenia and suggests that these may have proved important in enhancing brain connectivity in the later stages of evolution of modern humans.