Schlaggar B L, O'Leary D D
Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute, La Jolla, California 92037.
Perspect Dev Neurobiol. 1993;1(2):81-91.
The adult neocortex, a distinct region of the mammalian cerebral cortex, is characterized by numerous anatomically and functionally distinct areas. Many of the connectional and architectural features that distinguish areas in the adult neocortex are not evident in the immature neocortex. A central issue in understanding neocortical area differentiation is determining the relative contributions of genetic and epigenetic factors in the emergence of area-specific features during neocortical development. A model system for this issue has been the rodent somatosensory cortex, which uniquely contains "barrels," anatomically evident functional groupings of cortical neurons and thalamocortical afferents that, in the tangential plane of cortex, are arranged in a pattern that reflects the distribution of vibrissae on the rodent body surface. Here, we address the role of thalamocortical afferents in the differentiation of barrels and their patterning in the context of discussing the specification of neocortical areas.
成年新皮层是哺乳动物大脑皮层的一个独特区域，其特点是有许多在解剖学和功能上都不同的区域。许多区分成年新皮层区域的连接和结构特征在未成熟的新皮层中并不明显。理解新皮层区域分化的一个核心问题是确定遗传和表观遗传因素在新皮层发育过程中区域特异性特征出现时的相对贡献。针对这个问题的一个模型系统是啮齿动物的体感皮层，它独特地包含“桶状结构”，这是皮层神经元和丘脑皮质传入纤维在解剖学上明显的功能分组，在皮层的切向平面上，它们以一种反映啮齿动物体表触须分布的模式排列。在这里，我们在讨论新皮层区域特化的背景下，探讨丘脑皮质传入纤维在桶状结构分化及其模式形成中的作用。
