Quantitative comparison of the amygdala in insectivores and primates

Comparative architectonic studies have resulted in a classification of the amygdaloid complex which differs somewhat from the commonly used classification (first proposed by Humphrey, 1936) by separating the cortical amygdaloid nucleus from the centromedial group and assigning it to the basolateral group, which then forms a cortico-basolateral group. The size changes of these groups and of the nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract (belonging to the centromedial group) and the large-celled part of the basal nucleus (belonging to the corticobasolateral group) have been investigated in representatives of an ascending primate scale. In all structural complexes investigated so far, the small-celled part of the cortico-basolateral group is the most progressive. In descending order of progression there follow: the corticobasolateral group as a whole, the amygdala as a whole, and the large-celled basal nucleus. No clear changes were found in the centromedial group as a whole, whereas the size of the nucleus of the lateral olfactory tract, which represents a small component of this latter group, shows a strong reduction. These differences in the developmental trends point to increasing or decreasing capacities of the functional (limbic and olfactory) systems, to which these structures are related.