Francis-Oliveira Jose, Leitzel Owen, Niwa Minae
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States.
Department of Neurobiology, Heersink School of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States.
Front Neuroanat. 2022 Jun 2;16:914359. doi: 10.3389/fnana.2022.914359. eCollection 2022.
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved in cognitive control, emotional regulation, and motivation. In this Perspective article, we discuss the nomenclature of the subdivisions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), since the anatomical definitions of the PFC subregions have been confusing. Although the mid-cingulate cortex (MCC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) have distinct features in humans and non-human primates, it is unclear whether these regions serve different functions in rodents. Accurate mapping of the cingulate cortex in rodents is important to allow comparisons between species. A proposed change in the nomenclature of the rodent cingulate cortex to anterior cingulate cortex (aCg) and mid-cingulate cortex (mCg) is presented based on our data. We show evidence for distinct cortico-cortical projections from the aCg and mCg to the PrL. The aCg→PrL neurons were abundant in layer VI, while the mCg→PrL neurons were mainly distributed in layer V. In addition, a sex difference was detected in the aCg, with males having a higher proportion of layer V neurons projecting to the PrL than females. Based on this laminar distribution and considering that layer V and VI send efferent projections to different brain areas such as the brain stem, amygdala, and thalamus, we propose that aCg and mCg need to be considered separate entities for future rodent studies. This new definition will put into perspective the role of rodent cingulate cortex in diverse aspects of cognition and facilitate interspecies comparisons in cingulate cortex research.
前额叶皮质(PFC)参与认知控制、情绪调节和动机。在这篇观点文章中,我们讨论内侧前额叶皮质(mPFC)各亚区的命名,因为PFC亚区的解剖学定义一直很混乱。尽管扣带中央皮质(MCC)和前扣带皮质(ACC)在人类和非人类灵长类动物中有不同特征,但在啮齿动物中这些区域是否发挥不同功能尚不清楚。准确绘制啮齿动物扣带皮质图谱对于进行种间比较很重要。基于我们的数据,提出将啮齿动物扣带皮质的命名改为前扣带皮质(aCg)和扣带中央皮质(mCg)。我们展示了从aCg和mCg到前边缘区(PrL)的不同皮质-皮质投射的证据。aCg→PrL神经元在VI层丰富,而mCg→PrL神经元主要分布在V层。此外,在aCg中检测到性别差异,雄性投射到PrL的V层神经元比例高于雌性。基于这种层状分布,并考虑到V层和VI层向脑干、杏仁核和丘脑等不同脑区发出传出投射,我们建议在未来的啮齿动物研究中应将aCg和mCg视为不同的实体。这一新定义将使啮齿动物扣带皮质在认知的各个方面所起的作用更加清晰,并有助于扣带皮质研究中的种间比较。