To compare the two brains, scientists assembled a virtual Neanderthal brain by scanning skull fragments and comparing the computer models at different stages of growth to the human baby brain.

The head has been modelled by the internationally renowned forensic artist Richard Neave from a skull recovered from the wreck.

Using baboons afflicted with a form of Parkinson's disease, the researchers placed a flat electrode between the brain and the skull directly over the motor cortex.