Wong Peiyan, Kaas Jon H
Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA.
Brain Behav Evol. 2009;73(3):206-28. doi: 10.1159/000225381. Epub 2009 Jun 16.
Short-tailed opossums (Monodelphis domestica) belong to the branch of marsupial mammals that diverged from eutherian mammals approximately 180 million years ago. They are small in size, lack a marsupial pouch, and may have retained more morphological characteristics of early marsupial neocortex than most other marsupials. In the present study, we used several different histochemical and immunochemical procedures to reveal the architectonic characteristics of cortical areas in short-tailed opossums. Subdivisions of cortex were identified in brain sections cut in the coronal, sagittal, horizontal or tangential planes and processed for a calcium-binding protein, parvalbumin (PV), neurofilament protein epitopes recognized by SMI-32, the vesicle glutamate transporter 2 (VGluT2), myelin, cytochrome oxidase (CO), and Nissl substance. These different procedures revealed similar boundaries among areas, suggesting that functionally relevant borders were detected. The results allowed a fuller description and more precise demarcation of previously identified sensory areas, and the delineation of additional subdivisions of cortex. Area 17 (V1) was especially prominent, with a densely populated layer 4, high myelination levels, and dark staining of PV and VGluT2 immunopositive terminations. These architectonic features were present, albeit less pronounced, in somatosensory and auditory cortex. The major findings support the conclusion that short-tailed opossums have fewer cortical areas and their neocortex is less distinctly laminated than most other mammals.
短尾负鼠(Monodelphis domestica)属于有袋类哺乳动物分支,大约在1.8亿年前从真兽类哺乳动物分化而来。它们体型较小,没有育儿袋,与大多数其他有袋类动物相比,可能保留了更多早期有袋类新皮质的形态特征。在本研究中,我们使用了几种不同的组织化学和免疫化学方法来揭示短尾负鼠皮质区域的结构特征。在冠状、矢状、水平或切线平面上切割的脑切片中识别皮质亚区,并对其进行处理,以检测钙结合蛋白小白蛋白(PV)、SMI-32识别的神经丝蛋白表位、囊泡谷氨酸转运体2(VGluT2)、髓磷脂、细胞色素氧化酶(CO)和尼氏物质。这些不同的方法揭示了各区域之间相似的边界,表明检测到了功能相关的边界。结果使我们能够更全面地描述和更精确地划分先前确定的感觉区域,并描绘出皮质的其他亚区。17区(V1)尤为突出,其第4层细胞密集,髓鞘化水平高,PV和VGluT2免疫阳性终末呈深色染色。这些结构特征在体感和听觉皮质中也有出现,尽管不太明显。主要研究结果支持以下结论:与大多数其他哺乳动物相比,短尾负鼠的皮质区域较少,其新皮质的分层也不那么明显。