Karlen Sarah J, Krubitzer Leah
Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA.
J Comp Neurol. 2006 Dec 20;499(6):990-9. doi: 10.1002/cne.21156.
Natural selection operates on phenotypic variation that exists within a population. Variable aspects of cortical organization, such as the size and connections of a cortical field, can generate differences in behavior, which is a target of natural selection. Yet studies pertaining to within-species variability in cortical organization are limited. In the present investigation, we examined variation in brain size, cortical sheet size, and primary sensory cortical field sizes in the adult short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica). Within individuals, we found no significant difference between the right and left hemispheres in the overall size of the dorsolateral cortex or in primary cortical field sizes. Between individuals, we found relatively little intraspecies variation in brain weight, brain volume, and cortical sheet area for the dorsolateral neocortex and pyriform cortex; however, we observed a large degree of variability in body weight and primary sensory cortical field size, as defined by myeloarchitecture. Further, we found that the size of each cortical field correlated with the size of the other cortical fields as well as with the total size of the dorsolateral cortex. Here we discuss the possible sources of variation and examine the relationship between cortical field size and sensory processing abilities and behaviors across species. Since behavior is the target of natural selection, variation in cortical field size across individuals may supply the raw material necessary for cortical field evolution.
自然选择作用于种群中存在的表型变异。皮质组织的可变方面,如皮质区域的大小和连接,可产生行为差异,而行为是自然选择的目标。然而,关于物种内皮质组织变异性的研究有限。在本研究中,我们检查了成年短尾负鼠(Monodelphis domestica)的脑大小、皮质板大小和初级感觉皮质区域大小的变异。在个体内部,我们发现背外侧皮质的整体大小或初级皮质区域大小在左右半球之间没有显著差异。在个体之间,我们发现背外侧新皮质和梨状皮质的脑重量、脑体积和皮质板面积的种内变异相对较小;然而,我们观察到体重和由髓鞘构筑定义的初级感觉皮质区域大小存在很大程度的变异性。此外,我们发现每个皮质区域的大小与其他皮质区域的大小以及背外侧皮质的总大小相关。在这里,我们讨论了变异的可能来源,并研究了跨物种皮质区域大小与感觉处理能力和行为之间的关系。由于行为是自然选择的目标,个体间皮质区域大小的变异可能为皮质区域进化提供必要的原材料。