Can the corpus callosum predict gender, age, handedness, or cognitive differences?

Bleier, Ruth; Houston, Lanning; Byne, William

doi:10.1016/0166-2236(86)90125-6

Cited by 54 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Our results are in accordance with those described by Bleier et al (1986), Oppenheim et al (1987) Kertesz et al (1987. In a previous analyses of autopsy brains we could not find a sexual dimorphism (Weber & Weis, 1986).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 94%

The Controversy About a Sexual Dimorphism of the Human Corpus Callosum

Weis

Weber

Wenger

et al. 1989

International Journal of Neuroscience

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A sexual dimorphism of the splenium corporis callosi in man was reported in 1982. The authors described the posterior part of the female corpus callosum to be larger and more bulbous than its male counterpart. From the lateralization research, it has previously been stated that the female brain is less well lateralized for visuospatial functions than the male. The authors postulated that a larger splenium implies a larger number of fibers and that the number of interhemispheric fibers correlates inversely with lateralization of function. However, their sample was very small and not adequately matched for sex. Therefore, we reinvestigated this question. A standardized computer assisted program will be presented. With this program the "classical" parameters have been evaluated and the "rotatory diameter measurement" was performed. No differences between the sexes were seen either for the splenium corporis callosi or for the other parts of the corpus callosum.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 94%

The Controversy About a Sexual Dimorphism of the Human Corpus Callosum

Weis

Weber

Wenger

et al. 1989

International Journal of Neuroscience

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“…1985; Meyer et al . 1998; see also Rauch & Jinkins 1994); (ii) of the high individual variability of callosal morphology (Bleier et al . 1986; Rauch & Jinkins 1994); and (iii) surgery may have altered the normal morphology of this brain region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of the corpus callosum in the somatosensory activation of the ipsilateral cerebral cortex: an fMRI study of callosotomized patients

Fabri

Polonara

Quattrini

et al. 1999

Eur J of Neuroscience

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To verify whether the activation of the posterior parietal and parietal opercular cortices to tactile stimulation of the ipsilateral hand is mediated by the corpus callosum, a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, 1.0 tesla) study was performed in 12 control and 12 callosotomized subjects (three with total and nine with partial resection). Eleven patients were also submitted to the tactile naming test. In all subjects, unilateral tactile stimulation provoked a signal increase temporally correlated with the stimulus in three cortical regions of the contralateral hemisphere. One corresponded to the first somatosensory area, the second was in the posterior parietal cortex, and the third in the parietal opercular cortex. In controls, activation was also observed in the ipsilateral posterior parietal and parietal opercular cortices, in regions anatomically corresponding to those activated contralaterally. In callosotomized subjects, activation in the ipsilateral hemisphere was observed only in two patients with splenium and posterior body intact. These two patients and another four with the entire splenium and variable portions of the posterior body unsectioned named objects explored with the right and left hand without errors. This ability was impaired in the other patients. The present physiological and anatomical data indicate that in humans activation of the posterior parietal and parietal opercular cortices in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the stimulated hand is mediated by the corpus callosum, and that the commissural fibres involved probably cross the midline in the posterior third of its body.

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“…Lateralized differences in elimination of callosal axons might be related to the genesis of a wide range of functional and structural asymmetries in the primate cerebral cortex (for review, see Geschwind and Galaburda, 1985;Bleir et al, 1986). For example, one possibility is that lateralized differences in axon elimination result in a larger number of callosal projections from distinctive areas in the dominant hemisphere.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Axon overproduction and elimination in the corpus callosum of the developing rhesus monkey

1990

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We have studied the cytological and quantitative aspects of axon addition and elimination in the corpus callosum of the developing rhesus monkey. Electron microscopic analysis reveals that during fetal development the number of callosal axons increases from 4 million at embryonic day 65 (E65) to 188 million at birth (E 165). Thus, the number of callosal axons in newborn monkeys exceeds the number present in the adult (an average of 56 million; LaMantia and Rakic, 1990a) by at least 3.5 times. Although there is some variability among the 11 fetal and newborn monkeys examined, there appears to be a progressive increase in the total number of callosal axons from midgestation through birth. The presence and numbers of growth cones from E65 through birth suggests that axon addition occurs exclusively during this period. There is no ultrastructural or quantitative indication of postnatal axon addition. After birth, about 70% of the axons in the callosum are eliminated in 2 phases. During the first phase, which includes the first 3 postnatal weeks, approximately 80 million axons are lost at an estimated rate of 4.4 million/d or 50/sec. During the second phase, which continues for the following 3 months, an additional 50 million axons are eliminated at a rate of 0.5 million/d or 5/sec until the adult value is reached. A discontinuous distribution of different classes of axons along the anterior-posterior axis of the tract reminiscent of the pattern seen in the adult is detectable before the onset of the first phase of axon elimination. Since the basic topography and terminal field patterns of callosal projections are well established before birth in all regions of the monkey cortex examined so far (Goldman-Rakic et al., 1983; Killackey and Chalupa, 1986; Dehay et al., 1988; Schwartz and Goldman-Rakic, 1990), we conclude that the massive postnatal elimination of callosal axons described here is unlikely to play a significant role in the development of discretely patterned callosal projection zones or their columnar terminations. The coincidence of axon elimination and the increase in synaptic density throughout the primate cerebral cortex during the first 6 postnatal months (Rakic et al., 1986), however, suggests that supernumerary axons may be lost during a process that results in the local proliferation of synapses from a subset of initial interhemispheric projections.

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Can the corpus callosum predict gender, age, handedness, or cognitive differences?

Cited by 54 publications

References 20 publications

The Controversy About a Sexual Dimorphism of the Human Corpus Callosum

The Controversy About a Sexual Dimorphism of the Human Corpus Callosum

Role of the corpus callosum in the somatosensory activation of the ipsilateral cerebral cortex: an fMRI study of callosotomized patients

Axon overproduction and elimination in the corpus callosum of the developing rhesus monkey

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