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Gradients in cytoarchitectural landscapes of the isocortex: Diprotodont marsupials in comparison to eutherian mammals

Charvet, CJ; Stimpson, CD; Kim, YD; Raghanti, MA; Lewandowski, AH; Hof, PR; Gomez-Robles, A; ... Sherwood, CC; + view all (2017) Gradients in cytoarchitectural landscapes of the isocortex: Diprotodont marsupials in comparison to eutherian mammals. The Journal of Comparative Neurology , 525 (8) pp. 1811-1826. 10.1002/cne.24160. Green open access

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Abstract

Although it has been claimed that marsupials possess a lower density of isocortical neurons compared with other mammals, little is known about cross‐cortical variation in neuron distributions in this diverse taxonomic group. We quantified upper‐layer (layers II–IV) and lower‐layer (layers V–VI) neuron numbers per unit of cortical surface area in three diprotodont marsupial species (two macropodiformes, the red kangaroo and the parma wallaby, and a vombatiform, the koala) and compared these results to eutherian mammals (e.g., xenarthrans, rodents, primates). In contrast to the notion that the marsupial isocortex contains a low density of neurons, we found that neuron numbers per unit of cortical surface area in several marsupial species overlap with those found in eutherian mammals. Furthermore, neuron numbers vary systematically across the isocortex of the marsupial mammals examined. Neuron numbers under a unit of cortical surface area are low toward the frontal cortex and high toward the caudo‐medial (occipital) pole. Upper‐layer neurons (i.e., layers II–IV) account for most of the variation in neuron numbers across the isocortex. The variation in neuron numbers across the rostral to the caudal pole resembles primates. These findings suggest that diprotodont marsupials and eutherian mammals share a similar cortical architecture despite their distant evolutionary divergence.

Type: Article
Title: Gradients in cytoarchitectural landscapes of the isocortex: Diprotodont marsupials in comparison to eutherian mammals
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1002/cne.24160
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1002/cne.24160
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: cortex, evolution, layer, marsupials, RRID:SCR_002526, RRID:SCR_001905
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Anthropology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059236
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