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Hopkins WD, Westerhausen R, Schapiro S, Sherwood CC. Heritability in corpus callosum morphology and its association with tool use skill in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Reproducibility in two genetically isolated populations. GENES, BRAIN, AND BEHAVIOR 2022; 21:e12784. [PMID: 35044083 PMCID: PMC8830772 DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
The corpus callosum (CC) is the major white matter tract connecting the left and right cerebral hemispheres. It has been hypothesized that individual variation in CC morphology is negatively associated with forebrain volume (FBV) and this accounts for variation in behavioral and brain asymmetries as well as sex differences. To test this hypothesis, CC surface area and thickness as well as FBV was quantified in 221 chimpanzees with known pedigrees. CC surface area, thickness and FBV were significantly heritable and phenotypically associated with each other; however, no significant genetic association was found between FBV, CC surface area and thickness. The CC surface area and thickness measures were also found to be significantly heritable in both chimpanzee cohorts as were phenotypic associations with variation in asymmetries in tool use skill, suggesting that these findings are reproducible. Finally, significant phenotypic and genetic associations were found between hand use skill and region-specific variation in CC surface area and thickness. These findings suggest that common genes may underlie individual differences in chimpanzee tool use skill and interhemispheric connectivity as manifest by variation in surface area and thickness within the anterior region of the CC.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D. Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michael E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and ResearchUniversity of Texas M D Anderson Cancer CenterBastropTexasUSA
| | | | - Steve Schapiro
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michael E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and ResearchUniversity of Texas M D Anderson Cancer CenterBastropTexasUSA
- Department of Experimental MedicineUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Chet C. Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human PaleobiologyThe George Washington UniversityWashingtonDistrict of ColumbiaUSA
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Kovacs-Balint ZA, Payne C, Steele J, Li L, Styner M, Bachevalier J, Sanchez MM. Structural development of cortical lobes during the first 6 months of life in infant macaques. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2021; 48:100906. [PMID: 33465553 PMCID: PMC7815644 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2020.100906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 12/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
This study mapped the developmental trajectories of cortical regions in comparison to overall brain growth in typically developing, socially-housed infant macaques. Volumetric changes of cortical brain regions were examined longitudinally between 2-24 weeks of age (equivalent to the first 2 years in humans) in 21 male rhesus macaques. Growth of the prefrontal, frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal cortices (visual and auditory) was examined using MRI and age-specific infant macaque brain atlases developed by our group. Results indicate that cortical volumetric development follows a cubic growth curve, but maturational timelines and growth rates are region-specific. Total intracranial volume (ICV) increased significantly during the first 5 months of life, leveling off thereafter. Prefrontal and temporal visual cortices showed fast volume increases during the first 16 weeks, followed by a plateau, and significant growth again between 20-24 weeks. Volume of the frontal and temporal auditory cortices increased substantially between 2-24 weeks. The parietal cortex showed a significant volume increase during the first 4 months, whereas the volume of the occipital lobe increased between 2-12 weeks and plateaued thereafter. These developmental trajectories show similarities to cortical growth in human infants, providing foundational information necessary to build nonhuman primate (NHP) models of human neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Z A Kovacs-Balint
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30329, United States
| | - C Payne
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30329, United States; Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, 30329, United States
| | - J Steele
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30329, United States
| | - L Li
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA, 30329, United States; Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, United States
| | - M Styner
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, United States
| | - J Bachevalier
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30329, United States; Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, United States
| | - M M Sanchez
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30329, United States; Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, United States.
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Corpus callosum morphology across the lifespan in baboons (Papio anubis): A cross-sectional study of relative mid-sagittal surface area and thickness. Neurosci Res 2021; 171:19-26. [PMID: 33744333 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2021.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2020] [Revised: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The corpus callosum enables integration and coordination of cognitive processing between the cerebral hemispheres. In the aging human brain, these functions are affected by progressive axon and myelin deteriorations, reflected as atrophy of the midsagittal corpus callosum in old age. In non-human primates, these degenerative processes are less pronounced as previous morphometric studies on capuchin monkey, rhesus monkeys, and chimpanzees do not find old-age callosal atrophy. In the present study, we extend these previous findings by studying callosal development of the olive baboon (Papio anubis) across the lifespan and compare it to chimpanzee and human data. For this purpose, total relative (to forebrain volume) midsagittal area, subsectional area, and regional thickness of the corpus callosum were assessed in 91 male and female baboons using non-invasive MRI-based morphometry. The studied age range was 2.5-26.6 years and lifespan trajectories were fitted using general additive modelling. Relative area of the total and anterior corpus callosum showed a positive linear trajectory. That is, both measures increased slowly but continuously from childhood into old age, and no decline was observed in old age. Thus, comparable with all other non-human primates studied to-date, baboons do not show callosal atrophy in old age. This observation lends supports to the notion that atrophy of the corpus callosum is a unique characteristic of human brain aging.
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Medina A, Torres J, Kazama AM, Bachevalier J, Raper J. Emotional responses in monkeys differ depending on the stimulus type, sex, and neonatal amygdala lesion status. Behav Neurosci 2020; 134:153-165. [PMID: 32175761 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala plays an essential role in evaluating social information, threat detection, and learning fear associations. Yet, most of that knowledge comes from studies in adult humans and animals with a fully developed amygdala. Given the considerable protracted postnatal development of the amygdala, it is important to understand how early damage to this structure may impact the long-term development of behavior. The current study examined behavioral responses toward social, innate, or learned aversive stimuli among neonatal amygdala lesion (Neo-Aibo; males = 3, females = 3) or sham-operated control (Neo-C; males = 3, females = 4) rhesus macaques. Compared with controls, Neo-Aibo animals exhibited less emotional reactivity toward aversive objects, including faster retrieval of food reward, fewer fearful responses, and more manipulation of objects. This lower reactivity was only seen in response to social and innate aversive stimuli, whereas Neo-Aibo animals had similar responses to controls for learned aversive stimuli. The current study also detected sex differences in behavioral response to aversive stimuli, such that, as compared with males, females took longer to retrieve the food reward across all aversive stimuli types, but only expressed more hostility and more coo vocalizations during learned aversive trials. Early amygdala damage impacted the expression of some, but not all, sex differences. For example, neonatal amygdala damage eliminated the sex difference in object manipulation. These findings add important information that broaden our understanding of the role of the amygdala in the expression of sexually dimorphic behaviors, as well as its role in learning fear associations and threat detection. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Jessica Raper
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University
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Raper J, Murphy L, Richardson R, Romm Z, Kovacs-Balint Z, Payne C, Galvan A. Chemogenetic Inhibition of the Amygdala Modulates Emotional Behavior Expression in Infant Rhesus Monkeys. eNeuro 2019; 6:ENEURO.0360-19.2019. [PMID: 31541000 PMCID: PMC6791827 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0360-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Manipulation of neuronal activity during the early postnatal period in monkeys has been largely limited to permanent lesion studies, which can be impacted by developmental plasticity leading to reorganization and compensation from other brain structures that can interfere with the interpretations of results. Chemogenetic tools, such as DREADDs (designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs), can transiently and reversibly activate or inactivate brain structures, avoiding the pitfalls of permanent lesions to better address important developmental neuroscience questions. We demonstrate that inhibitory DREADDs in the amygdala can be used to manipulate socioemotional behavior in infant monkeys. Two infant rhesus monkeys (1 male, 1 female) received AAV5-hSyn-HA-hM4Di-IRES-mCitrine injections bilaterally in the amygdala at 9 months of age. DREADD activation after systemic administration of either clozapine-N-oxide or low-dose clozapine resulted in decreased freezing and anxiety on the human intruder paradigm and changed the looking patterns on a socioemotional attention eye-tracking task, compared with vehicle administration. The DREADD-induced behaviors were reminiscent of, but not identical to, those seen after permanent amygdala lesions in infant monkeys, such that neonatal lesions produce a more extensive array of behavioral changes in response to the human intruder task that were not seen with DREADD-evoked inhibition of this region. Our results may help support the notion that the more extensive behavior changes seen after early lesions are manifested from brain reorganization that occur after permanent damage. The current study provides a proof of principle that DREADDs can be used in young infant monkeys to transiently and reversibly manipulate behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Raper
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329
| | - Lauren Murphy
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329
| | - Rebecca Richardson
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329
| | - Zoe Romm
- Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
| | - Zsofia Kovacs-Balint
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329
| | | | - Adriana Galvan
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30329
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Meng Y, Hu X, Zhang X, Bachevalier J. Diffusion tensor imaging reveals microstructural alterations in corpus callosum and associated transcallosal fiber tracts in adult macaques with neonatal hippocampal lesions. Hippocampus 2019; 28:838-845. [PMID: 29978933 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2017] [Revised: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
To investigate the effects of neonatal hippocampal lesions on the microstructural integrity of the corpus callosum (CC) in adulthood, macaque monkeys (n = 5) with neonatal bilateral neurotoxic hippocampal lesion (Neo-Hibo) and sham-operated controls (Neo-C, n = 5) were scanned using magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) technique at 8-10 years old. CC was segmented into seven regionsgrouped into anterior CC (rostrum, genu, rostral body and anterior midbody) and posterior CC (posterior midbody, isthmus and splenium) for data analysis. Associated transcallosal fiber tracts were delineated using probabilistic tractography and evaluated with tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Neo-Hibo lesions resulted in significant increased diffusivity indices (mean, axial and radial diffusivity) in CC posterior segments. Also, significant decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased diffusivity indices were seen in the associated transcallosal fiber tracts proximal to motor, posterior parietal and retrosplenial cortices. In Neo-Hibo animals, increased mean diffusivity (MD) in posterior midbody negatively correlated with reduction of CC surface areaand the magnitude of their memory impairments was significantly correlated with FA in transcallosal fiber tracts across splenium. Although no microstructural changes were observed in CC anterior segments, changes in FA values and diffusivity indices were observed in the white matter fibers of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Thus, Neo-H lesions resulted in enduring degradation in transcallosal fibers proximal to parietal and retrosplenial cortices, and hemispheric connections through posterior CC. The findings may provide complementary information for understanding the neural substrate of behavioral and cognitive deficits observed in patients with early insult to the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuguang Meng
- Yerkes Imaging Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Xiaoping Hu
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California at Riverside, Riverside, California
| | - Xiaodong Zhang
- Yerkes Imaging Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.,Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Diseases, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Jocelyne Bachevalier
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
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