Absence of interhemispheric connections of area 17 during development in the monkey

Our understanding of the development of cortical connectivity largely stems from studies of the ontogeny of interhemispheric pathways in carnivores, rodents and lagomorphs. Early in development, cortical neurons projecting to the contralateral hemisphere through the corpus callosum (callosal projection neurons) have a widespread distribution. As maturation proceeds, callosal projection neurons become restricted to those cortical regions that are connected in the adult. In newborn cats and rats, for example, callosal projection neurons are not restricted to the 17-18 border as in the adult, but are found throughout areas 17 and 18. The macaque monkey is an exception, because at birth it has an adult-like distribution of callosal projection neurons in area 18, with practically none in area 17. Here we show that whereas area 17 is devoid of interhemispheric connections throughout prenatal development, the distribution of callosal projection neurons in area 18 shows the common sequence of an early widespread distribution followed by regression. The absence of callosal projection neurons in area 17 throughout ontogeny may well be a feature unique to Old World primates.