The Comparative Anatomy of Neurons: Homologous Neurons in the Medial Geniculate Body of the Opossum and the Cat

111 Pages·1986·5.246 MB·English

by  D. Kent Morest, Jeffery A. Winer (auth.)

Advances in Anatomy
Embryology and Cell Biology
Vol. 97
Editors
F. Beck, Leicester W Hild, Galveston
W. Kriz, Heidelberg R. Ortmann, K61n
IE. Pauly, Little Rock T.H. Schiebler, Wiirzburg
D. Kent Morest Jeffery A.Winer
The Comparative
Anatomy of Neurons:
Homologous Neurons
in the Medial
Geniculate Body of the
Opossum and the Cat
With 43 Figures
Springer-Verlag
Berlin Heidelberg NewY ork Tokyo
D. Kent Morest
Professor of Anatomy and Communication Sciences
Department of Anatomy, The University of Connecticut
Health Center, Farmington, CT 06032 USA
Jeffery A. Winer
Associate Professor of Anatomy
Department of Physiology-Anatomy, University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720 USA
ISBN-13: 978-3-540-15726-7 e-ISBN-13: 978-3-642-70652-3
DOT: 10.1007/978-3-642-70652-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Morest. D. Kent. The comparative anatomy of neurons. (Advances in anatomy,
embryology, and cell biology; vol. 97) Bibliography: p. Includes index.
1. Neurons. 2. Geniculate bodies. 3. Cats - Anatomy. 4. Opossums - Anatomy.
5. Mammals - Anatomy. I. Winer, Jeffery A., 1945-. II. Title. III. Series:
Advances in anatomy, embryology and cell biology; v. 97. [DNLM: 1. Anatomy,
Comparative. 2. Cats - anatomy & histology. 3. Geniculate Bodies - anatomy &
histology. 4. Neurons - cytology. 5. Opossums - anatomy & histology.
WI AD433K v. 97fWL 102.5 M851c] QL801.E67 vol. 97 574.4 s 86-6474
[QL931] [599'.048]
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2121/3140-543210
And the worthy and the intelligent
go too far because they too are blinded
by their (dogmatic) views and lose
their original mind.
Lu Chiu-Yuan (1139-1193)
In: Fung Yu-Lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, volume 2.
Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1953, p. 575.
Contents
1 Introduction 1
2 Materials and Methods 3
2.1 Optics 4
2.2 Axonal Degeneration 4
3 Observations 5
3.1 The Neuronal Architecture 5
3.2 Topographical Relationships of the Main
Subdivisions 5
3.3 Ventral Division 7
3.4 Dorsal Division 16
3.5 Medial Division 26
3.6 Golgi Type II Neurons 26
3.7 The Axonal Architecture 27
3.8 Ascending Connections 51
3.8.1 Ascending Connections in the Opossum 51
3.8.2 Ascending Connections in the Cat 68
4 Discussion 69
4.1 Comparative Anatomy 69
4.2 Classification of Neurons and Axons 70
4.3 Homologous Nuclei and Nuclear Groups 71
4.4 Comparison of the Opossum and the Cat 72
4.5 Functional Organization and Physiological
Implications 73
4.6 Ascending Afferent Connections of the Medial
Geniculate Body 75
4.6.1 Ventral Division 75
4.6.2 Medial Division 75
4.6.3 Dorsal Division 76
4.7 Other Studies of the Medial Geniculate Body 79
4.8 Intralaminar Nuclei 80
4.9 The Problem of Homology 80
4.9.1 Topological Considerations 81
4.9.2 Developmental Considerations 81
4.9.3 Connectional Considerations 83
4.9.4 Functional Considerations 84
4.9.5 Comparative Neurology and Homology 84
5 Summary 86
6 Acknowledgments 87
7 References 88
Subject Index 95
VIII
Abbreviations
A cerebral aqueduct
AD anterior deep dorsal nucleus, CGM
AP anterior pretectal nucleus
AR auditory radiation
ASD anterior superficial dorsal nucleus, CGM
BA brachium, accessory (medial) nucleus, IC
BIC brachium of inferior colliculus
BSC brachium of superior colliculus
CB cerebellum
CC caudal cortex, IC
CF cuneate fasciculus
CG central gray
CGL lateral geniculate body
CGM medial geniculate body
CIC commissure of inferior colliculus
CIN central intralaminar nucleus
CL lateral part of commissural nucleus, IC
CM central medial nucleus
CN central nucleus, IC
CORD spinal cord
CP cerebral peduncle
CSC commissure, SC
CUN cuneiform area, IC
D dorsal nucleus, CGM
DA anterior dorsal nucleus, CGM
DC dorsal cortex, IC
DD deep dorsal nucleus, CGM
DI dorsal intercollicular area
DM dorsomedial nucleus, IC
DMCP decussation of superior cerebellar peduncle
DS superficial dorsal nucleus, CGM
EYE enucleation
FX fornix
GN gracile nucleus
HIT habenulo-interpeduncular tract
IC inferior colliculus
III oculomotor nerve
IN interpeduncular nucleus
L posterior limitans nucleus
LC laterocaudal nucleus, IC
LI lateral intercollicular area
LL lateral lemniscus
LMN lateral mesencephalic nucleus
LN lateral nucleus, IC
LP lateral posterior nucleus
LPc caudal part of lateral posterior nucleus
LV pars lateralis, ventral nucleus, CGM
M medial division, CGM
MB mammillary bodies
MCP middle cerebellar peduncle
MES V mesencephalic nucleus of trigeminal tract
MI medial intercollicular area
ML medial lemniscus
MLF medial longitudinal fasciculus
MT mammillothalamic tract
MZ marginal zone, CGM
OC oculomotor nuclei
OCC occipital cortex lesion
OT optic tract
OV pars ovoidea, ventral nucleus, CGM
PC posterior commissure
PF parafascicular nucleus
PP pontine protuberance
PT pre tectum
RN red nucleus
RP rostral pole nucleus, IC
SC superior colliculus
SCP superior cerebellar peduncle
SG suprageniculate nucleus
SGd dorsal part of suprageniculate nucleus
SGv ventral part of suprageniculate nucleus
SN substantia nigra
SPF subparafascicular nucleus
SPN suprapeduncular nucleus
ST subthalamic nucleus
V ventral nucleus, CGM
V trigeminal nerve
VB ventrobasal complex
VL ventrolateral nucleus, CGM
VPL ventroposterolateral nucleus
VR visual radiation
x
VIII statoacoustic nerve
ZI zona incerta
Orientation D, dorsal; L, lateral; M, medial; V, ventral
of section
XI
1 Introduction
The comparative study of the nervous system rests on the determination of
valid homologies among nuclei and fiber tracts in different species (Ebner 1969;
Northcutt 1969, 1981; Neary and Northcutt 1983; Bullock 1984). Since ancestral
forms are extinct, the criterion of descent can rarely be satisfied (Colbert 1969).
Hence, a number of collateral criteria are often used to support common ances
tral origin (Simpson 1961; Ghiselin 1969, 1976). These include relative position
and shape, developmental history, afferent and efferent connections, and func
tion (Gans 1969; Gans and Northcutt 1983; Rose and Wilczynski 1984). Serious
objections have been made to each of these or similar criteria (Campbell and
Hodos 1970). Thus, the relative position and shape of nuclei and fiber tracts
can be a consequence of mechanical factors, such as size and shape of the head,
without a clear relation to common ancestry (Ariens Kappers et al. 1936; Wake
et al. 1983). Developmental history alone may not yield reliable conclusions
about homologies, since the ontogeny of a particular structure may differ sub
stantially even between species with a common ancestor (Pearson 1972; Brunjes
1983). Patterns of neuronal connections are not proof of ancestral affinity, and
they may vary between closely related species (Shatz 1977; Haight and Neylon
1981). Function is an erratic index of ancestry, since convergent or parallel
adaptations are common in evolutionary history (Bullock et al. 1983; Rodieck
and Brening 1983). Thus, any such similarity between cephalopod (Horridge
1974) and vertebrate eyes (Walls 1942) is not indicative of common ancestral
origin (Darwin 1872; see also Bullock 1945). Since no one of these criteria has
proved to be definitive for the identification of homologies, most investigators
have had to rely on multiple features. However, neuronal morphology has been
relatively neglected as an index of common ancestry, particularly the form of the
dendrites (Morest 1964; Ramon-Moliner 1968) and the structure of the neuropil,
especially the preterminal axonal plexus (Herrick 1948). We believe that the
evolutionary conservatism of neuronal shape and the genetic stability of neuro
nal structure make them useful, even essential, in the study of homologies in
the nervous system (Morest 1964, 1965a; Ramon-Moliner and Nauta 1966;
Ramon-Moliner 1968; Winer and Morest 1979; Johnson et al. 1982a, b).
To illustrate these principles the thalamus provides an appropriate subject,
as previous students of comparative anatomy have well demonstrated (see, for
example, Le Gros Clark 1932,1933; Walker 1938; Ariens Kappers et al. 1936;
Diamond 1973). In this paper we compare the structure of neurons and their
processes in the medial geniculate body of the opossum and the cat. Paleontolog
ical evidence suggests that marsupials have existed independently since the Cre
taceous period more than 75 million years ago (Simpson 1937). They have
subsequently diverged from a presumed common ancestor and are now special-
1