The septum in the human brain

Andy, Orlando J.; Stephan, Heinz

doi:10.1002/cne.901330308

Cited by 123 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that growth of both the hippocampus and corpus callosum during fetal development results in a pushing together of the leaflets of septi pellucidi, which fuse; abnormalities in this process may lead to a lack of fusion (cavum septi pellucidi). Of note, the septum pellucidum is an important relay station with the hippocampus and hypothalamus, as well as being part of the limbic system that regulates emotion and motivational behavior (51,52). Disturbances in this system may, therefore, lead to distortions of perception, cognition, and behavior seen in schizophrenia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MRI Study of Cavum Septi Pellucidi in Schizophrenia, Affective Disorder, and Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Kwon¹,

Shenton²,

Hirayasu³

et al. 1998

AJP

144

127

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Objective-A cavum between the septi pellucidi may reflect neurodevelopmental anomalies in midline structures of the brain. The authors examined cavum septi pellucidi in subjects with schizophrenia, affective disorder, and schizotypal personality disorder and in normal subjects.Method-Thirty schizophrenic patients (15 chronic, 15 first-episode), 16 patients with affective disorder (first-episode), 21 patients with schizotypal personality disorder, and 46 normal subjects were evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging. Cavum septi pellucidi was assessed by counting the number of 1.5-mm slices containing cavum septi pellucidi. Results-The presence or absence of cavum septi pellucidi did not differentiate among groups. However, the prevalence of abnormal cavum septi pellucidi (i.e., cavum septi pellucidi contained on four or more slices) was 30.4% for schizophrenic patients (36.4% for chronic, 25.0% for firstepisode), 20.0% for patients with affective disorder, 18.8% for patients with schizotypal personality disorder, and 10.3% for normal subjects. When the authors used the Nopoulos et al. criteria for rating cavum septi pellucidi, which omitted borderline cases with cavum septi pellucidi on three slices, the prevalence of abnormal cavum septi pellucidi increased to 35.0% for schizophrenia (40.0% for chronic, 30.0% for first-episode), 25.0% for affective disorder, 27.3% for schizotypal personality disorder, and 13.0% for normal subjects. There was a statistically significant difference in ratings between schizophrenic and normal subjects. Conclusions-The results suggest that alterations in midline structures during the course of neurodevelopment may play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.The cavum septi pellucidi is the space between the two leaflets of the septum pellucidum (1). Examples of "fused" and cavum septi pellucidi can be seen in figure 1 (fused in right panel, cavum in left panel [see black arrow]). In normal development it closes in 15% of humans within 1 month of birth, with 85% closure within 6 months of life (1,2). This fusion likely results from rapid growth of the hippocampus and corpus callosum. Incomplete fusion results in the persistence of a cavum, which, in turn, reflects possible neurodevelopmental anomalies of these midline structures (1-3). Two cavum septi pellucidi anomalies have been described: NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript "noncommunicating," in which the walls of the cavum are intact and do not "communicate" with the lateral ventricular system, and "communicating," in which the cavum opens to the lateral ventricular system. The latter is the result of later-developing internal hydrocephalus, or acquired/secondary cavum septi pellucidi due to blows to the head, as in, for example, professional and semiprofessional boxers (2,4). Here, we focus on noncommunicating cavum septi pellucidi, since this is thought to be neurodevelopmental in origin.Because abnormalities in temporal lobe structures, including the hippocampus, have been ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MRI Study of Cavum Septi Pellucidi in Schizophrenia, Affective Disorder, and Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Kwon¹,

Shenton²,

Hirayasu³

et al. 1998

AJP

144

127

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“…Supporting this hypothesis, focal lesions of rostromedial basal forebrain structures, including the septohypotalamic area, can produce predatory aggression and changes in sexual behavior in humans and animals (Gorman and Cummings, 1992). Furthermore, stimulation of this region elicits pleasurable experiences and prosocial behavior (Bishop et al, 1963;Andy and Stephan, 1968;Irvin et al, 1990). In addition, functional neuroimaging studies in humans have implicated these subcortical structures in individual differences in attachment styles (Gillath et al, 2005), mother-infant bonding (Strathearn et al, 2009), maternal (Bartels and Zeki, 2004) and romantic (Aron et al, 2005) love, and in altruism, cooperation, and trust (Moll et al, 2006;Krueger et al, 2007;Koscik and Tranel, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

A Neural Signature of Affiliative Emotion in the Human Septohypothalamic Area

et al. 2012

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Comparative studies have established that a number of structures within the rostromedial basal forebrain are critical for affiliative behaviors and social attachment. Lesion and neuroimaging studies concur with the importance of these regions for attachment and the experience of affiliation in humans as well. Yet it remains obscure whether the neural bases of affiliative experiences can be differentiated from the emotional valence with which they are inextricably associated at the experiential level. Here we show, using functional MRI, that kinship-related social scenarios evocative of affiliative emotion induce septal-preoptic-anterior hypothalamic activity that cannot be explained by positive or negative emotional valence alone. Our findings suggest that a phylogenetically conserved ensemble of basal forebrain structures, especially the septohypothalamic area, may play a key role in enabling human affiliative emotion. Our finding of a neural signature of human affiliative experience bears direct implications for the neurobiological mechanisms underpinning impaired affiliative experiences and behaviors in neuropsychiatric conditions.

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“…1A, 2A-B)-Magnocellular neurons at the level of the area subcallosa and gyrus rectus stretching from just below the fused midline of the septum to the ventral edge of the brain and extend close to the medial border of the nucleus accumbens. This compartment largely corresponds to the medial septal nucleus and the nucleus of the diagonal band of Broca as defined by Andy and Stephan (1968). In the more dorsal part of this area, corresponding to the Ch1 group of Mesulam et al (1983), the cell bodies and initial dendrites of the neurons tend to be oriented perpendicularly to the crossing fibers of the anterior commissure in coronal sections.…”

Section: Diagonal Band Of Broca and Basal Nucleus Of Meynert In Histomentioning

confidence: 99%

Stereotaxic probabilistic maps of the magnocellular cell groups in human basal forebrain

et al. 2008

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The basal forebrain contains several interdigitating anatomical structures, including the diagonal band of Broca, the basal nucleus of Meynert, the ventral striatum, and also cell groups underneath the globus pallidus that bridge the centromedial amygdala to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Among the cell populations, the magnocellular, cholinergic corticopetal projection neurons have received particular attention due to their loss in Alzheimer's disease. In MRI images, the precise delineation of these structures is difficult due to limited spatial resolution and contrast. Here, using microscopic delineations in ten human postmortem brains, we present stereotaxic probabilistic maps of the basal forebrain areas containing the magnocellular cell groups. Cytoarchitectonic mapping was performed in silver stained histological serial sections. The positions and the extent of the magnocellular cell groups within the septum (Ch1-2), the horizontal limb of the diagonal band (Ch3), and in the sublenticular part of the basal forebrain (Ch4) were traced in high-resolution digitized histological sections, 3D reconstructed, and warped to the reference space of the MNI single subject brain. The superposition of the cytoarchitectonic maps in the MNI brain shows the intersubject variability of the various Ch compartments and their stereotaxic position relative to other brain structures. Both the right and left Ch4 regions showed significantly smaller volumes when age was considered as a covariate. Probabilistic maps of compartments of the basal forebrain magnocellular system are now available as an open source reference for correlation with fMRI, PET, and structural MRI data of the living human brain.

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The septum in the human brain

Cited by 123 publications

References 9 publications

MRI Study of Cavum Septi Pellucidi in Schizophrenia, Affective Disorder, and Schizotypal Personality Disorder

MRI Study of Cavum Septi Pellucidi in Schizophrenia, Affective Disorder, and Schizotypal Personality Disorder

A Neural Signature of Affiliative Emotion in the Human Septohypothalamic Area

Stereotaxic probabilistic maps of the magnocellular cell groups in human basal forebrain

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