Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2011 Apr;1225:59-71. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06011.x.
The von Economo neurons (VENs) are large bipolar neurons located in the frontoinsular cortex (FI) and limbic anterior (LA) area in great apes and humans but not in other primates. Our stereological counts of VENs in FI and LA show them to be more numerous in humans than in apes. In humans, small numbers of VENs appear the 36th week postconception, with numbers increasing during the first 8 months after birth. There are significantly more VENs in the right hemisphere in postnatal brains; this may be related to asymmetries in the autonomic nervous system. VENs are also present in elephants and whales and may be a specialization related to very large brain size. The large size and simple dendritic structure of these projection neurons suggest that they rapidly send basic information from FI and LA to other parts of the brain, while slower neighboring pyramids send more detailed information. Selective destruction of VENs in early stages of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) implies that they are involved in empathy, social awareness, and self-control, consistent with evidence from functional imaging.
冯·埃科诺莫神经元（VENs）是位于大型猿类和人类的额岛皮质（FI）和边缘前区（LA）中的大型双极神经元，但在其他灵长类动物中不存在。我们对 FI 和 LA 中的 VENs 的立体学计数表明，它们在人类中比在猿类中更为丰富。在人类中，少量的 VENs 出现在受孕后第 36 周，数量在出生后 8 个月内增加。在出生后的大脑中，右半球有明显更多的 VENs；这可能与自主神经系统的不对称有关。VENs 也存在于大象和鲸鱼中，可能是与非常大的大脑大小相关的专业化。这些投射神经元的大型尺寸和简单的树突结构表明，它们迅速将基本信息从 FI 和 LA 发送到大脑的其他部分，而较慢的相邻锥体则发送更详细的信息。在额颞叶痴呆（FTD）的早期阶段选择性地破坏 VENs 表明它们与同理心、社会意识和自我控制有关，这与功能成像的证据一致。
