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Axonal fiber terminations concentrate on gyri
Jingxin Nie1, Lei Guo, Kaiming Li
1Department of Automatic Control, School of Automation, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China.
Cerebral Cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)
|December 23, 2011
Summary
Axonal fibers are denser in the gyri than in the sulci of mammalian brains. This finding suggests that axonal pushing may be a key mechanism driving the development of the cerebral cortex and its characteristic folding patterns.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Comparative Anatomy
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- The mammalian brain exhibits complex cortical folding and intricate neuronal wiring.
- The relationship between these features and the principles governing cerebral cortex development are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the macroscale relationship between cortical folding and neuronal wiring across mammalian brains.
- To identify underlying principles shaping cerebral cortex architecture.
Main Methods:
- Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)
- High-angular resolution diffusion imaging (HARDI)
- Analysis of axonal fiber density in gyri and sulci across species.
Main Results:
- Axonal fibers connected to gyri are significantly denser than those connected to sulci.
- A dominant fraction of axonal fibers connect to gyri in human, chimpanzee, and macaque brains.
- This finding was replicated across a range of mammalian brains.
Conclusions:
- The study reveals a significant difference in axonal fiber density between gyri and sulci.
- Axonal pushing is proposed as a potential mechanism driving cortical folding.
- Findings may illuminate fundamental mechanisms of cerebral cortex development and organization.
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