A Neuronal Morphologic Type Unique to Humans and Great Apes

We report the existence and distribution of an unusual type of projection neuron, a large, spindle-shaped cell, in layer Vb of the anterior cingulate cortex of pongids and hominids. These spindle cells were not observed in any other primate species or any other mammalian taxa, and their volume was c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1999-04, Vol.96 (9), p.5268-5273
Main Authors: Nimchinsky, Esther A., Gilissen, Emmanuel, Allman, John M., Perl, Daniel P., Erwin, Joseph M., Hof, Patrick R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alzheimer Disease - pathology
Animals
Anthropology
Apes
Biological Evolution
Biological Sciences
Bonobos
Brain
Cell Differentiation
Chimpanzees
Hominidae
Humans
Monkeys
Monkeys & apes
Neocortex - cytology
Neurobiology
Neurology
Neurons
Neurons - cytology
Primates
Pyramidal cells
Social Sciences
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Summary:We report the existence and distribution of an unusual type of projection neuron, a large, spindle-shaped cell, in layer Vb of the anterior cingulate cortex of pongids and hominids. These spindle cells were not observed in any other primate species or any other mammalian taxa, and their volume was correlated with brain volume residuals, a measure of encephalization in higher primates. These observations are of particular interest when considering primate neocortical evolution, as they reveal possible adaptive changes and functional modifications over the last 15-20 million years in the anterior cingulate cortex, a region that plays a major role in the regulation of many aspects of autonomic function and of certain cognitive processes. That in humans these unique neurons have been shown previously to be severely affected in the degenerative process of Alzheimer's disease suggests that some of the differential neuronal susceptibility that occurs in the human brain in the course of age-related dementing illnesses may have appeared only recently during primate evolution.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.96.9.5268