Medial cortex of the lizard <i>Gekko gecko</i>: A hodological study with emphasis on regional specialization

Hoogland, Piet V.; Vermeulen-VanderZee, Eefke

doi:10.1002/cne.903310304

Cited by 37 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Similar to other lizard studies [e.g., Hoogland and Vermeulen-Vanderzee, 1993;Hoogland et al, 1994] that report hodological and cytoarchitectonic variation between the rostral and caudal MC, our results suggest regional variation within the MC of the snake, A. piscivorus. After subdividing the MC into rostral and caudal subregions, it was evident that sex differences may be primarily attributed to the caudal MC.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Relative Medial and Dorsal Cortex Volume in Relation to Sex Differences in Spatial Ecology of a Snake Population

Roth

Lutterschmidt²,

Wilson³

2006

Brain Behav Evol

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In non-avian reptiles the medial and dorsal cortices are putative homologues of the hippocampal formation in mammals and birds. Studies on mammals and birds commonly report neuro-ecological correlations between hippocampal volume and aspects of spatial ecology. We examined the relationship between putative homologous cortical volumes and spatial use in a population of the squamate reptile, Agkistrodon piscivorus, that exhibits sex differences in spatial use. Do male A. piscivorus that inhabit larger home ranges than females also have larger putative hippocampal volumes? Male and female brains were sectioned and digitized to quantify regional cortical volumes. Although sex differences in dorsal cortex volume were not observed, males had a significantly larger medial cortex relative to telencephalon volume. Similar to studies on mammals and birds, relative hippocampal or medial cortex volume was positively correlated with patterns of spatial use. We demonstrate volumetric sex differences within a reptilian putative hippocampal homologue.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Relative Medial and Dorsal Cortex Volume in Relation to Sex Differences in Spatial Ecology of a Snake Population

Roth

Lutterschmidt²,

Wilson³

2006

Brain Behav Evol

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“…Anterograde labeling in the DLA after injections into the NS is bilateral and is also found in animals in which the injections included only the MC and the NS. The MC has not been found to project to the DLA Ulinski, 1990;Hoogland and Vermeulen-Vanderzee, 1993). Moreover, one injection centered in the DLA (which also affected the caudal DC) gave rise to retrogradely labeled somata in the NS (not charted).…”

Section: Subtraction Of DC Projectionsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Afferent and efferent connections of the nucleus sphericus in the snakeThamnophis sirtalis: Convergence of olfactory and vomeronasal information in the lateral cortex and the amygdala

Lanuza

Halpern

1997

J. Comp. Neurol.

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This paper is an account of the afferent and efferent projections of the nucleus sphericus (NS), which is the major secondary vomeronasal structure in the brain of the snake Thamnophis sirtalis. There are four major efferent pathways from the NS: 1) a bilateral projection that courses, surrounding the accessory olfactory tract, and innervates several amygdaloid nuclei (nucleus of the accessory olfactory tract, dorsolateral amygdala, external amygdala, and ventral anterior amygdala), the rostral parts of the dorsal and lateral cortices, and the accessory olfactory bulb; 2) a bilateral projection that courses through the medial forebrain bundle and innervates the olfactostriatum (rostral and ventral striatum); 3) a commissural projection that courses through the anterior commissure and innervates mainly the contralateral NS; and 4) a meager bilateral projection to the lateral hypothalamus. On the other hand, important afferent projections to the NS arise solely in the accessory olfactory bulb, the nucleus of the accessory olfactory tract, and the contralateral NS. This pattern of connections has three important implications: first, the lateral cortex probably integrates olfactory and vomeronasal information. Second, because the NS projection to the hypothalamus is meager and does not reach the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, vomeronasal information from the NS is not relayed directly to that nucleus, as previously reported. Finally, a structure located in the rostral and ventral telencephalon, the olfactostriatum, stands as the major tertiary vomeronasal center in the snake brain. These three conclusions change to an important extent our previous picture of how vomeronasal information is processed in the brain of reptiles.

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“…The MC has two subdivisions, a principally vertical and medial small celled portions (MS) and a more dorsal-lateral large celled portion (ML). Although functional differences remain undefined, these subdivisions have distinctly different cytoarchitecture [Butler, 1980;Butler and Hodos, 1996] and chemoarchitecture [Regidor and Poch, 1988;Smeets et al, 1989] in many lizard species, and distinctive connectivity in at least some lizard species [Hoogland and Vermeulen-Vanderzee, 1993]. Given that no one has traced the connections of the medial cortex in Acanthodactylus species, it is possible that either the small celled or the large cell portion of the medial cortex might have connections suggesting greater functional significance to foraging ecology than the other.…”

Section: Histologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative Medial and Dorsal Cortex Volume in Relation to Foraging Ecology in Congeneric Lizards

Day¹,

Crews²,

Wilczynski³

1999

Brain Behav Evol

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The need to locate distributed resources such as mates, food, and nests is correlated with an enlarged hippocampus in many mammalian and avian species. This correlation is believed to be a consequence of selection for spatial ability. Little is known about how such ecological needs affect non-mammalian, non-avian species. In lizards, the putative hippocampal homologues are the dorsal cortex (DC) and medial cortex (MC). We examined the relationship between foraging ecology and the size of the DC and MC in congeneric male lizards. We predicted based on the mammalian and avian literature that Acanthodactylus boskianus, an active forager that captures clumped, immobile prey would have a larger MC and DC than A. scutellatus, a sit-and-wait predator, that captures mobile prey. Our previous behavioral studies showed that A. boskianus did not differ from A. scutellatus on a spatial task but that A. boskianus was significantly better at the reversal of a visual discrimination, another task that is hippocampally dependent in mammals. In the current study, we found that, relative to telencephalon volume, the MC and DC were larger in the active forager whereas a control region, the lateral, olfactory, cortex, was similar in size between species. The current anatomical results suggest that MC and DC size is related to active foraging in lizards and, along with our previous behavioral studies, show that it is possible for this relationship to occur in the absence of evidence for species differences in spatial memory.

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Medial cortex of the lizard Gekko gecko: A hodological study with emphasis on regional specialization

Cited by 37 publications

References 25 publications

Relative Medial and Dorsal Cortex Volume in Relation to Sex Differences in Spatial Ecology of a Snake Population

Relative Medial and Dorsal Cortex Volume in Relation to Sex Differences in Spatial Ecology of a Snake Population

Afferent and efferent connections of the nucleus sphericus in the snakeThamnophis sirtalis: Convergence of olfactory and vomeronasal information in the lateral cortex and the amygdala

Relative Medial and Dorsal Cortex Volume in Relation to Foraging Ecology in Congeneric Lizards

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