Topography and architecture of visual and somatosensory areas of the agouti |
| |
| Authors: | I.A. Dias C.P. Bahia J.G. Franca J.C. Houzel R. Lent A.O. Mayer L.F. Santiago L.C.L. Silveira C.W. Picanço‐Diniz Antonio Pereira |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Laboratory of Neuroplasticity, Institute of Health Sciences, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, (PA), Brazil;2. Programa de Neurobiologia, Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio do Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, (RJ), Brazil;3. Laboratory of Neuroscience Frontiers, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 21941‐902, Rio de Janeiro, (RJ), Brazil;4. Laboratory of Neuroplasticity, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, (RJ), Brazil;5. Laboratory of Investigations in Neurodegeneration and Infection, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, (PA), Brazil;6. Eduardo Oswaldo‐Cruz Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, (PA), Brazil;7. Brain Institute, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, (RN), Brazil |
| |
| Abstract: | We analyzed the organization of the somatosensory and visual cortices of the agouti, a diurnal rodent with a relatively big brain, using a combination of multiunit microelectrode recordings and histological techniques including myelin and cytochrome oxidase staining. We found multiple representations of the sensory periphery in the parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes. While the agouti's primary (V1) and secondary visual areas seemed to lack any obvious modular arrangement, such as blobs or stripes, which are found in some primates and carnivores, the primary somatosensory area (S1) was internally subdivided in discrete regions, isomorphically associated with peripheral structures. Our results confirm and extend previous reports on this species, and provide additional data to understand how variations in lifestyle can influence brain organization in rodents. J. Comp. Neurol. 522:2576–2593, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
| |
| Keywords: | rodents somatosensory cortex visual cortex cortical evolution comparative neuroanatomy |
|
|
