Journal
BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION
Volume 66, Issue 1, Pages 10-21Publisher
KARGER
DOI: 10.1159/000085044
Keywords
striate; extrastriate; cortex; dendrite; spine; Lucifer Yellow; mammals; primates
Categories
Funding
- NEI NIH HHS [R01 EY002686] Funding Source: Medline
- NATIONAL EYE INSTITUTE [R01EY002686] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Recent studies have revealed marked differences in the basal dendritic structure of layer III pyramidal cells in the cerebral cortex of adult simian primates. In particular, there is a consistent trend for pyramidal cells of increasing complexity with anterior progression through occipitotemporal cortical visual areas. These differences in pyramidal cell structure, and their systematic nature, are believed to be important for specialized aspects of visual processing within, and between, cortical areas. However, it remains unknown whether this regional specialization in the pyramidal cell phenotype is unique to simians, is unique to primates in general or is widespread amongst mammalian species. In the present study we investigated pyramidal cell structure in the prosimian galago (Otolemur garnetti). We found, as in simians, that the basal dendritic arbors of pyramidal cells differed between cortical areas. More specifically, pyramidal cells became progressively more spinous through the primary (V1), second (V2), dorsolateral (DL) and inferotemporal ( IT) visual areas. Moreover, pyramidal neurons in V1 of the galago are remarkably similar to those in other primate species, in spite of large differences in the sizes of this area. In contrast, pyramidal cells in inferotemporal cortex are quite variable among primate species. These data suggest that regional specialization in pyramidal cell phenotype was a likely feature of cortex in a common ancestor of simian and prosimian primates, but the degree of specialization varies between species. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available