Wiring economy can account for cell body placement across species and brain areas

The placement of neuronal cell bodies relative to the neuropile differs among species and brain areas. Cell bodies can be either embedded as in mammalian cortex or segregated as in invertebrates and some other vertebrate brain areas. Why are there such different arrangements? Here we suggest that th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current biology 2014-02, Vol.24 (3), p.R109-R110
Main Authors: Rivera-Alba, Marta, Peng, Hanchuan, de Polavieja, Gonzalo G., Chklovskii, Dmitri B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Central Nervous System - cytology
Humans
Neurons - cytology
Neuropil - cytology
Species Specificity
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Summary:The placement of neuronal cell bodies relative to the neuropile differs among species and brain areas. Cell bodies can be either embedded as in mammalian cortex or segregated as in invertebrates and some other vertebrate brain areas. Why are there such different arrangements? Here we suggest that the observed arrangements may simply be a reflection of wiring economy, a general principle that tends to reduce the total volume of the neuropile and hence the volume of the inclusions in it. Specifically, we suggest that the choice of embedded versus segregated arrangement is determined by which neuronal component — the cell body or the neurite connecting the cell body to the arbor — has a smaller volume. Our quantitative predictions are in agreement with existing and new measurements.
ISSN:0960-9822
1879-0445
DOI:10.1016/j.cub.2013.12.012