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Chauvel M, Pascucci M, Uszynski I, Herlin B, Mangin JF, Hopkins WD, Poupon C. Comparative analysis of the chimpanzee and human brain superficial structural connectivities. Brain Struct Funct 2024:10.1007/s00429-024-02823-2. [PMID: 39020215 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-024-02823-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024]
Abstract
Diffusion MRI tractography (dMRI) has fundamentally transformed our ability to investigate white matter pathways in the human brain. While long-range connections have extensively been studied, superficial white matter bundles (SWMBs) have remained a relatively underexplored aspect of brain connectivity. This study undertakes a comprehensive examination of SWMB connectivity in both the human and chimpanzee brains, employing a novel combination of empirical and geometric methodologies to classify SWMB morphology in an objective manner. Leveraging two anatomical atlases, the Ginkgo Chauvel chimpanzee atlas and the Ginkgo Chauvel human atlas, comprising respectively 844 and 1375 superficial bundles, this research focuses on sparse representations of the morphology of SWMBs to explore the little-understood superficial connectivity of the chimpanzee brain and facilitate a deeper understanding of the variability in shape of these bundles. While similar, already well-known in human U-shape fibers were observed in both species, other shapes with more complex geometry such as 6 and J shapes were encountered. The localisation of the different bundle morphologies, putatively reflecting the brain gyrification process, was different between humans and chimpanzees using an isomap-based shape analysis approach. Ultimately, the analysis aims to uncover both commonalities and disparities in SWMBs between chimpanzees and humans, shedding light on the evolution and organization of these crucial neural structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maëlig Chauvel
- BAOBAB, NeuroSpin, Paris-Saclay University, CNRS, CEA, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
- Department of Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Marco Pascucci
- BAOBAB, NeuroSpin, Paris-Saclay University, CNRS, CEA, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Ivy Uszynski
- BAOBAB, NeuroSpin, Paris-Saclay University, CNRS, CEA, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Bastien Herlin
- BAOBAB, NeuroSpin, Paris-Saclay University, CNRS, CEA, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Rehabilitation Unit, AP-HP, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France
| | | | - William D Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Michale E Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Cyril Poupon
- BAOBAB, NeuroSpin, Paris-Saclay University, CNRS, CEA, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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2
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Liu YS, Baxi M, Madan CR, Zhan K, Makris N, Rosene DL, Killiany RJ, Cetin-Karayumak S, Pasternak O, Kubicki M, Cao B. Brain age of rhesus macaques over the lifespan. Neurobiol Aging 2024; 139:73-81. [PMID: 38643691 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2024.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Through the application of machine learning algorithms to neuroimaging data the brain age methodology was shown to provide a useful individual-level biological age prediction and identify key brain regions responsible for the prediction. In this study, we present the methodology of constructing a rhesus macaque brain age model using a machine learning algorithm and discuss the key predictive brain regions in comparison to the human brain, to shed light on cross-species primate similarities and differences. Structural information of the brain (e.g., parcellated volumes) from brain magnetic resonance imaging of 43 rhesus macaques were used to develop brain atlas-based features to build a brain age model that predicts biological age. The best-performing model used 22 selected features and achieved an R2 of 0.72. We also identified interpretable predictive brain features including Right Fronto-orbital Cortex, Right Frontal Pole, Right Inferior Lateral Parietal Cortex, and Bilateral Posterior Central Operculum. Our findings provide converging evidence of the parallel and comparable brain regions responsible for both non-human primates and human biological age prediction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang S Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Madhura Baxi
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Kevin Zhan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Nikolaos Makris
- Department of Psychiatry, Center for Morphometric Analysis, A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Douglas L Rosene
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ronald J Killiany
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Suheyla Cetin-Karayumak
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Laboratory of Mathematics in Imaging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ofer Pasternak
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marek Kubicki
- Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Center for Morphometric Analysis, A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Laboratory of Mathematics in Imaging, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bo Cao
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada; Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
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Wang X, Chen Q, Liu Y, Sun J, Li J, Zhao P, Cai L, Liu W, Yang Z, Wang Z, Lv H. Causal relationship between multiparameter brain MRI phenotypes and age: evidence from Mendelian randomization. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae077. [PMID: 38529357 PMCID: PMC10963122 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
To explore the causal relationship between age and brain health (cortical atrophy, white matter integrity, white matter hyperintensities and cerebral microbleeds in various brain regions) related multiparameter imaging features using two-sample Mendelian randomization. Age was determined as chronological age of the subject. Cortical volume, white matter micro-integrity, white matter hyperintensity volume and cerebral microbleeds of each brain region were included as phenotypes for brain health. Age and imaging of brain health related genetic data were analysed to determine the causal relationship using inverse-variance weighted model, validated by heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy variables. Age is causally related to increased volumes of white matter hyperintensities (β = 0.151). For white matter micro-integrity, fibres of the inferior cerebellar peduncle (axial diffusivity β = -0.128, orientation dispersion index β = 0.173), cerebral peduncle (axial diffusivity β = -0.136), superior fronto-occipital fasciculus (isotropic volume fraction β = 0.163) and fibres within the limbic system were causally deteriorated. We also detected decreased cortical thickness of multiple frontal and temporal regions (P < 0.05). Microbleeds were not related with aging (P > 0.05). Aging is a threat of brain health, leading to cortical atrophy mainly in the frontal lobes, as well as the white matter degeneration especially abnormal hyperintensity and deteriorated white matter integrity around the hippocampus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinghao Wang
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Qian Chen
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Yawen Liu
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Jia Li
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Pengfei Zhao
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Linkun Cai
- School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
| | - Wenjuan Liu
- Department of Radiology, Aerospace Center Hospital, Beijing 100089, China
- Peking University Aerospace School of Clinical Medicine, Beijing 100089, China
| | - Zhenghan Yang
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Zhenchang Wang
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China
| | - Han Lv
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, China
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Demirci N, Hoffman ME, Holland MA. Systematic cortical thickness and curvature patterns in primates. Neuroimage 2023; 278:120283. [PMID: 37516374 PMCID: PMC10443624 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are known to have significant and consistent differences in thickness throughout the cortex, with thick outer gyral folds and thin inner sulcal folds. Our previous work has suggested a mechanical basis for this thickness pattern, with the forces generated during cortical folding leading to thick gyri and thin sulci, and shown that cortical thickness varies along a gyral-sulcal spectrum in humans. While other primate species are expected to exhibit similar patterns of cortical thickness, it is currently unknown how these patterns scale across different sizes, forms, and foldedness. Among primates, brains vary enormously from roughly the size of a grape to the size of a grapefruit, and from nearly smooth to dramatically folded; of these, human brains are the largest and most folded. These variations in size and form make comparative neuroanatomy a rich resource for investigating common trends that transcend differences between species. In this study, we examine 12 primate species in order to cover a wide range of sizes and forms, and investigate the scaling of their cortical thickness relative to the surface geometry. The 12 species were selected due to the public availability of either reconstructed surfaces and/or population templates. After obtaining or reconstructing 3D surfaces from publicly available neuroimaging data, we used our surface-based computational pipeline (https://github.com/mholla/curveball) to analyze patterns of cortical thickness and folding with respect to size (total surface area), geometry (i.e. curvature, shape, and sulcal depth), and foldedness (gyrification). In all 12 species, we found consistent cortical thickness variations along a gyral-sulcal spectrum, with convex shapes thicker than concave shapes and saddle shapes in between. Furthermore, we saw an increasing thickness difference between gyri and sulci as brain size increases. Our results suggest a systematic folding mechanism relating local cortical thickness to geometry. Finally, all of our reconstructed surfaces and morphometry data are available for future research in comparative neuroanatomy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nagehan Demirci
- Bioengineering Graduate Program, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Mia E Hoffman
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA; Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
| | - Maria A Holland
- Bioengineering Graduate Program, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
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5
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Vaill M, Kawanishi K, Varki N, Gagneux P, Varki A. Comparative physiological anthropogeny: exploring molecular underpinnings of distinctly human phenotypes. Physiol Rev 2023; 103:2171-2229. [PMID: 36603157 PMCID: PMC10151058 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00040.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 12/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Anthropogeny is a classic term encompassing transdisciplinary investigations of the origins of the human species. Comparative anthropogeny is a systematic comparison of humans and other living nonhuman hominids (so-called "great apes"), aiming to identify distinctly human features in health and disease, with the overall goal of explaining human origins. We begin with a historical perspective, briefly describing how the field progressed from the earliest evolutionary insights to the current emphasis on in-depth molecular and genomic investigations of "human-specific" biology and an increased appreciation for cultural impacts on human biology. While many such genetic differences between humans and other hominids have been revealed over the last two decades, this information remains insufficient to explain the most distinctive phenotypic traits distinguishing humans from other living hominids. Here we undertake a complementary approach of "comparative physiological anthropogeny," along the lines of the preclinical medical curriculum, i.e., beginning with anatomy and considering each physiological system and in each case considering genetic and molecular components that are relevant. What is ultimately needed is a systematic comparative approach at all levels from molecular to physiological to sociocultural, building networks of related information, drawing inferences, and generating testable hypotheses. The concluding section will touch on distinctive considerations in the study of human evolution, including the importance of gene-culture interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Vaill
- Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Glycobiology Research and Training Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Kunio Kawanishi
- Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Department of Experimental Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Nissi Varki
- Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Glycobiology Research and Training Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Pascal Gagneux
- Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Glycobiology Research and Training Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Ajit Varki
- Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
- Glycobiology Research and Training Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
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6
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de Sousa AA, Rigby Dames BA, Graff EC, Mohamedelhassan R, Vassilopoulos T, Charvet CJ. Going beyond established model systems of Alzheimer's disease: companion animals provide novel insights into the neurobiology of aging. Commun Biol 2023; 6:655. [PMID: 37344566 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-05034-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by brain plaques, tangles, and cognitive impairment. AD is one of the most common age-related dementias in humans. Progress in characterizing AD and other age-related disorders is hindered by a perceived dearth of animal models that naturally reproduce diseases observed in humans. Mice and nonhuman primates are model systems used to understand human diseases. Still, these model systems lack many of the biological characteristics of Alzheimer-like diseases (e.g., plaques, tangles) as they grow older. In contrast, companion animal models (cats and dogs) age in ways that resemble humans. Both companion animal models and humans show evidence of brain atrophy, plaques, and tangles, as well as cognitive decline with age. We embrace a One Health perspective, which recognizes that the health of humans is connected to those of animals, and we illustrate how such a perspective can work synergistically to enhance human and animal health. A comparative biology perspective is ideally suited to integrate insights across veterinary and human medical disciplines and solve long-standing problems in aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra A de Sousa
- Centre for Health and Cognition, Bath Spa University, Bath, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Brier A Rigby Dames
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Emily C Graff
- Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Rania Mohamedelhassan
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Tatianna Vassilopoulos
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA
| | - Christine J Charvet
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
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Hopkins WD, Li X, Roberts N, Mulholland MM, Sherwood CC, Edler MK, Raghanti MA, Schapiro SJ. Age differences in cortical thickness and their association with cognition in chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Neurobiol Aging 2023; 126:91-102. [PMID: 36958104 PMCID: PMC10106435 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
Humans and chimpanzees are genetically similar and share a number of life history, behavioral, cognitive and neuroanatomical similarities. Notwithstanding, our understanding of age-related changes in cognitive and motor functions in chimpanzees remains largely unstudied despite recent evident demonstrating that chimpanzees exhibit many of the same neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease observed in human postmortem brains. Here, we examined age-related differences in cognition and cortical thickness measured from magnetic resonance images in a sample of 215 chimpanzees ranging in age between 9 and 54 years. We found that chimpanzees showed global and region-specific thinning of cortex with increasing age. Further, within the elderly cohort, chimpanzees that performed better than average had thicker cortex in frontal, temporal and parietal regions compared to chimpanzees that performed worse than average. Independent of age, we also found sex differences in cortical thickness in 4 brain regions. Males had higher adjusted cortical thickness scores for the caudal anterior cingulate, rostral anterior cingulate, and medial orbital frontal while females had higher values for the inferior parietal cortex. We found no evidence that increasing age nor sex was associated with asymmetries in cortical thickness. Moreover, age-related differences in cognitive function were only weakly associated with asymmetries in cortical thickness. In summary, as has been reported in humans and other primates, elderly chimpanzees show thinner cortex and variation in cortical thickness is associated with general cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Hopkins
- National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX.
| | - Xiang Li
- School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Neil Roberts
- School of Clinical Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Michele M Mulholland
- National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC
| | - Melissa K Edler
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH
| | - Mary Ann Raghanti
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX; Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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8
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Edler MK, Munger EL, Maycon H, Hopkins WD, Hof PR, Sherwood CC, Raghanti MA. The association of astrogliosis and microglial activation with aging and Alzheimer's disease pathology in the chimpanzee brain. J Neurosci Res 2023; 101:881-900. [PMID: 36647571 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Aging and neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), trigger an immune response known as glial activation in the brain. Recent evidence indicates species differences in inflammatory responses to AD pathology, highlighting the need for additional comparative studies to further understand human-specific neuropathologies. In the present study, we report on the occurrence of astrogliosis, microglial activation, and their relationship with age and AD-like pathology in a cohort of male and female chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Chimpanzees with severe astrogliosis exhibited widespread upregulation of hypertrophic astrocytes immunoreactive for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) throughout all layers of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and a loss of the interlaminar palisade. In addition, extreme astrogliosis was associated with increased astrocyte density in the absence of significant microglial activation and AD lesions. A shift from decreased resting to increased phagocytotic microglia occurred with aging, although proliferation was absent and no changes in astrogliosis was observed. Vascular amyloid correlated with decreased astrocyte and microglia densities, while tau lesions were associated with morphological changes in microglia and greater total glia density and glia: neuron ratio. These results further our understanding of inflammatory processes within the chimpanzee brain and provide comparative data to improve our understanding of human aging and neuropathological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa K Edler
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA
| | - Emily L Munger
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA
| | - Hannah Maycon
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA
| | - William D Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, USA
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Mary Ann Raghanti
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA
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Rigby Dames BA, Kilili H, Charvet CJ, Díaz-Barba K, Proulx MJ, de Sousa AA, Urrutia AO. Evolutionary and genomic perspectives of brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2023; 275:165-215. [PMID: 36841568 PMCID: PMC11191546 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
This chapter utilizes genomic concepts and evolutionary perspectives to further understand the possible links between typical brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on the two most prevalent of these: Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Aging is the major risk factor for these neurodegenerative diseases. Researching the evolutionary and molecular underpinnings of aging helps to reveal elements of the typical aging process that leave individuals more vulnerable to neurodegenerative pathologies. Very little is known about the prevalence and susceptibility of neurodegenerative diseases in nonhuman species, as only a few individuals have been observed with these neuropathologies. However, several studies have investigated the evolution of lifespan, which is closely connected with brain size in mammals, and insights can be drawn from these to enrich our understanding of neurodegeneration. This chapter explores the relationship between the typical aging process and the events in neurodegeneration. First, we examined how age-related processes can increase susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases. Second, we assessed to what extent neurodegeneration is an accelerated form of aging. We found that while at the phenotypic level both neurodegenerative diseases and the typical aging process share some characteristics, at the molecular level they show some distinctions in their profiles, such as variation in genes and gene expression. Furthermore, neurodegeneration of the brain is associated with an earlier onset of cellular, molecular, and structural age-related changes. In conclusion, a more integrative view of the aging process, both from a molecular and an evolutionary perspective, may increase our understanding of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brier A Rigby Dames
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
| | - Huseyin Kilili
- Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Christine J Charvet
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, United States
| | - Karina Díaz-Barba
- Licenciatura en Ciencias Genómicas, UNAM, CP62210, Cuernavaca, México; Instituto de Ecología, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria, CP04510, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | | | - Araxi O Urrutia
- Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Licenciatura en Ciencias Genómicas, UNAM, CP62210, Cuernavaca, México; Instituto de Ecología, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria, CP04510, Ciudad de México, México.
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10
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Munger EL, Edler MK, Hopkins WD, Hof PR, Sherwood CC, Raghanti MA. Comparative analysis of astrocytes in the prefrontal cortex of primates: Insights into the evolution of human brain energetics. J Comp Neurol 2022; 530:3106-3125. [PMID: 35859531 PMCID: PMC9588662 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25387] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Astrocytes are the main homeostatic cell of the brain involved in many processes related to cognition, immune response, and energy expenditure. It has been suggested that the distribution of astrocytes is associated with brain size, and that they are specialized in humans. To evaluate these, we quantified astrocyte density, soma volume, and total glia density in layer I and white matter in Brodmann's area 9 of humans, chimpanzees, baboons, and macaques. We found that layer I astrocyte density, soma volume, and ratio of astrocytes to total glia cells were highest in humans and increased with brain size. Overall glia density in layer I and white matter were relatively invariant across brain sizes, potentially due to their important metabolic functions on a per volume basis. We also quantified two transporters involved in metabolism through the astrocyte-neuron lactate shuttle, excitatory amino acid transporter 2 (EAAT2) and glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1). We expected these transporters would be increased in human brains due to their high rate of metabolic consumption and associated gene activity. While humans have higher EAAT2 cell density, GLUT1 vessel volume, and GLUT1 area fraction compared to baboons and chimpanzees, they did not differ from macaques. Therefore, EAAT2 and GLUT1 are not related to increased energetic demands of the human brain. Taken together, these data provide evidence that astrocytes play a unique role in both brain expansion and evolution among primates, with an emphasis on layer I astrocytes having a potentially significant role in human-specific metabolic processing and cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily L. Munger
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH
| | - Melissa K. Edler
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Chet C. Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Mary Ann Raghanti
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, OH
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Guevara EE, Hopkins WD, Hof PR, Ely JJ, Bradley BJ, Sherwood CC. Epigenetic aging of the prefrontal cortex and cerebellum in humans and chimpanzees. Epigenetics 2022; 17:1774-1785. [PMID: 35603816 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2022.2080993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic age has emerged as an important biomarker of biological aging. It has revealed that some tissues age faster than others, which is vital to understanding the complex phenomenon of aging and developing effective interventions. Previous studies have demonstrated that humans exhibit heterogeneity in pace of epigenetic aging among brain structures that are consistent with differences in structural and microanatomical deterioration. Here, we add comparative data on epigenetic brain aging for chimpanzees, humans' closest relatives. Such comparisons can further our understanding of which aspects of human aging are evolutionarily conserved or specific to our species, especially given that humans are distinguished by a long lifespan, large brain, and, potentially, more severe neurodegeneration with age. Specifically, we investigated epigenetic aging of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and cerebellum, of humans and chimpanzees by generating genome-wide CpG methylation data and applying established epigenetic clock algorithms to produce estimates of biological age for these tissues. We found that both species exhibit relatively slow epigenetic aging in the brain relative to blood. Between brain structures, humans show a faster rate of epigenetic aging in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared to the cerebellum, which is consistent with previous findings. Chimpanzees, in contrast, show comparable rates of epigenetic aging in the two brain structures. Greater epigenetic change in the human dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared to the cerebellum may reflect both the protracted development of this structure in humans and its greater age-related vulnerability to neurodegenerative pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine E Guevara
- Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA.,Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA
| | - William D Hopkins
- Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX 78602, USA
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10124, USA
| | - John J Ely
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.,MAEBIOS, Alamogordo, NM 88310, USA
| | - Brenda J Bradley
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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12
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Guevara EE, Hopkins WD, Hof PR, Ely JJ, Bradley BJ, Sherwood CC. Comparative analysis reveals distinctive epigenetic features of the human cerebellum. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009506. [PMID: 33956822 PMCID: PMC8101944 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2020] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying the molecular underpinnings of the neural specializations that underlie human cognitive and behavioral traits has long been of considerable interest. Much research on human-specific changes in gene expression and epigenetic marks has focused on the prefrontal cortex, a brain structure distinguished by its role in executive functions. The cerebellum shows expansion in great apes and is gaining increasing attention for its role in motor skills and cognitive processing, including language. However, relatively few molecular studies of the cerebellum in a comparative evolutionary context have been conducted. Here, we identify human-specific methylation in the lateral cerebellum relative to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, in a comparative study with chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Specifically, we profiled genome-wide methylation levels in the three species for each of the two brain structures and identified human-specific differentially methylated genomic regions unique to each structure. We further identified which differentially methylated regions (DMRs) overlap likely regulatory elements and determined whether associated genes show corresponding species differences in gene expression. We found greater human-specific methylation in the cerebellum than the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, with differentially methylated regions overlapping genes involved in several conditions or processes relevant to human neurobiology, including synaptic plasticity, lipid metabolism, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, and neurodevelopment, including developmental disorders. Moreover, our results show some overlap with those of previous studies focused on the neocortex, indicating that such results may be common to multiple brain structures. These findings further our understanding of the cerebellum in human brain evolution. Humans are distinguished from other species by several aspects of cognition. While much comparative evolutionary neuroscience has focused on the neocortex, increasing recognition of the cerebellum’s role in cognition and motor processing has inspired considerable new research. Comparative molecular studies, however, generally continue to focus on the neocortex. We sought to characterize potential genetic regulatory traits distinguishing the human cerebellum by undertaking genome-wide epigenetic profiling of the lateral cerebellum, and compared this to the prefrontal cortex of humans, chimpanzees, and rhesus macaque monkeys. We found that humans showed greater differential CpG methylation–an epigenetic modification of DNA that can reflect past or present gene expression–in the cerebellum than the prefrontal cortex, highlighting the importance of this structure in human brain evolution. Humans also specifically show methylation differences at genes involved in neurodevelopment, neuroinflammation, synaptic plasticity, and lipid metabolism. These differences are relevant for understanding processes specific to humans, such as extensive plasticity, as well as pronounced and prevalent neurodegenerative conditions associated with aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine E. Guevara
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, United States of America
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States of America
- New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - John J. Ely
- MAEBIOS, Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States of America
| | - Brenda J. Bradley
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
| | - Chet C. Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
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13
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Mulholland MM, Sherwood CC, Schapiro SJ, Raghanti MA, Hopkins WD. Age- and cognition-related differences in the gray matter volume of the chimpanzee brain (Pan troglodytes): A voxel-based morphometry and conjunction analysis. Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23264. [PMID: 33899958 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Several primate species have been shown to exhibit age-related changes in cognition, brain, and behavior. However, severe neurodegenerative illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), were once thought to be uniquely human. Recently, some chimpanzees naturally were documented to develop both neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques, the main characteristics of AD pathology. In addition, like humans and other primates, chimpanzees show similar declines in cognition and motor function with age. Here, we used voxel-based morphometry to examine the relationships among gray matter volume, age, and cognition using magnetic resonance imaging scans previously acquired from chimpanzees (N = 216). We first determined the relationship between age and gray matter volume, identifying the regions that declined with age. With a subset of our sample (N = 103), we also determined differences in gray matter volume between older chimpanzees with higher cognition scores than expected for their age, and older chimpanzees with lower than expected scores. Finally, we ran a conjunction analysis to determine any overlap in brain regions between these two analyses. We found that as chimpanzees age, they lose gray matter in regions associated with cognition. In addition, cognitively healthy older chimpanzees (those performing better for their age) have greater gray matter volume in many brain regions compared with chimpanzees who underperform for their age. Finally, the conjunction analysis revealed that regions of age-related decline overlap with the regions that differ between cognitively healthy chimpanzees and those who underperform. This study provides further evidence that chimpanzees are an important model for research on the neurobiology of aging. Future studies should investigate the effects of cognitive stimulation on both cognitive performance and brain structure in aging nonhuman primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele M Mulholland
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, USA
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, USA.,Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - William D Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, Texas, USA
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14
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Hopkins WD, Mareno MC, Webb SJN, Schapiro SJ, Raghanti MA, Sherwood CC. Age-related changes in chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) cognition: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23214. [PMID: 33169860 PMCID: PMC7904603 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Chimpanzees are the species most closely related to humans, yet age-related changes in brain and cognition remain poorly understood. The lack of studies on age-related changes in cognition in chimpanzees is particularly unfortunate in light of the recent evidence demonstrating that this species naturally develops Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology. Here, we tested 213 young, middle-aged, and elderly captive chimpanzees on the primate cognitive test battery (PCTB), a set of 13 tasks that assess physical and social cognition in nonhuman primates. A subset of these chimpanzees (n = 146) was tested a second time on a portion of the PCTB tasks as a means of evaluating longitudinal changes in cognition. Cross-sectional analyses revealed a significant quadratic association between age and cognition with younger and older chimpanzees performing more poorly than middle-aged individuals. Longitudinal analyses showed that the oldest chimpanzees at the time of the first test showed the greatest decline in cognition, although the effect was mild. The collective data show that chimpanzees, like other nonhuman primates, show age-related decline in cognition. Further investigations into whether the observed cognitive decline is associated with AD pathologies in chimpanzees would be invaluable in understanding the comparative biology of aging and neuropathology in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Hopkins
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Mary Catherine Mareno
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Sarah J Neal Webb
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- Department of Comparative Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Mary Ann Raghanti
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, USA
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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15
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Bryant KL, Li L, Eichert N, Mars RB. A comprehensive atlas of white matter tracts in the chimpanzee. PLoS Biol 2020; 18:e3000971. [PMID: 33383575 PMCID: PMC7806129 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) are, along with bonobos, humans’ closest living relatives. The advent of diffusion MRI tractography in recent years has allowed a resurgence of comparative neuroanatomical studies in humans and other primate species. Here we offer, in comparative perspective, the first chimpanzee white matter atlas, constructed from in vivo chimpanzee diffusion-weighted scans. Comparative white matter atlases provide a useful tool for identifying neuroanatomical differences and similarities between humans and other primate species. Until now, comprehensive fascicular atlases have been created for humans (Homo sapiens), rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), and several other nonhuman primate species, but never in a nonhuman ape. Information on chimpanzee neuroanatomy is essential for understanding the anatomical specializations of white matter organization that are unique to the human lineage. Diffusion MRI tractography reveals the first complete atlas of white matter of the chimpanzee, with the potential to help understand differences between the organization of human and chimpanzee brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine L. Bryant
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Longchuan Li
- Marcus Autism Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
| | - Nicole Eichert
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Rogier B. Mars
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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16
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Zhang X, Li CX, Yan Y, Nair G, Rilling JK, Herndon JG, Preuss TM, Hu X, Li L. In-vivo diffusion MRI protocol optimization for the chimpanzee brain and examination of aging effects on the primate optic nerve at 3T. Magn Reson Imaging 2020; 77:194-203. [PMID: 33359631 DOI: 10.1016/j.mri.2020.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Revised: 10/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Diffusion MRI (dMRI) data acquisition protocols are well-established on modern high-field clinical scanners for human studies. However, these protocols are not suitable for the chimpanzee (or other large-brained mammals) because of its substantial difference in head geometry and brain volume compared with humans. Therefore, an optimal dMRI data acquisition protocol dedicated to chimpanzee neuroimaging is needed. METHODS A multi-shot (4 segments) double spin-echo echo-planar imaging (MS-EPI) sequence and a single-shot double spin-echo EPI (SS-EPI) sequence were optimized separately for in vivo dMRI data acquisition of chimpanzees using a clinical 3T scanner. Correction for severe susceptibility-induced image distortion and signal drop-off of the chimpanzee brain was performed and evaluated using FSL software. DTI indices in different brain regions and probabilistic tractography were compared. A separate DTI data set from n=34 chimpanzees (13 to 56 years old) was collected using the optimal protocol. Age-related changes in diffusivity indices of optic nerve fibers were evaluated. RESULTS The SS-EPI sequence acquired dMRI data of the chimpanzee brain with approximately doubled the SNR as the MS-EPI sequence given the same scan time. The quality of white matter fiber tracking from the SS-EPI data was much higher than that from MS-EPI data. However, quantitative analysis of DTI indices showed no difference in most ROIs between the SS-EPI and MS-EPI sequences. The progressive evolution of diffusivity indices of optic nerves indicated mild changes in fiber bundles of chimpanzees aged 40 years and above. CONCLUSION The single-shot EPI-based acquisition protocol provided better image quality of dMRI for chimpanzee brains and is recommended for in vivo dMRI study or clinical diagnosis of chimpanzees (or other large animals) using a clinical scanner. Also, the tendency of FA decrease or diffusivity increase in the optic nerve of aged chimpanzees was seen but did not show significant age-related changes, suggesting aging may have less impact on optic nerve fiber integrity of chimpanzees, in contrast to previous results for both macaque monkeys and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodong Zhang
- Yerkes Imaging Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America; Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Diseases, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
| | - Chun-Xia Li
- Yerkes Imaging Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Yumei Yan
- Yerkes Imaging Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Govind Nair
- qMRI Core Facility, NINDS, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, United States of America
| | - James K Rilling
- Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - James G Herndon
- Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Diseases, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Todd M Preuss
- Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Diseases, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America
| | - Xiaoping Hu
- Dept of Bioengineering, University of California, Riverside, CA, United States of America
| | - Longchuan Li
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States of America.
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17
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Vickery S, Hopkins WD, Sherwood CC, Schapiro SJ, Latzman RD, Caspers S, Gaser C, Eickhoff SB, Dahnke R, Hoffstaedter F. Chimpanzee brain morphometry utilizing standardized MRI preprocessing and macroanatomical annotations. eLife 2020; 9:e60136. [PMID: 33226338 PMCID: PMC7723405 DOI: 10.7554/elife.60136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Chimpanzees are among the closest living relatives to humans and, as such, provide a crucial comparative model for investigating primate brain evolution. In recent years, human brain mapping has strongly benefited from enhanced computational models and image processing pipelines that could also improve data analyses in animals by using species-specific templates. In this study, we use structural MRI data from the National Chimpanzee Brain Resource (NCBR) to develop the chimpanzee brain reference template Juna.Chimp for spatial registration and the macro-anatomical brain parcellation Davi130 for standardized whole-brain analysis. Additionally, we introduce a ready-to-use image processing pipeline built upon the CAT12 toolbox in SPM12, implementing a standard human image preprocessing framework in chimpanzees. Applying this approach to data from 194 subjects, we find strong evidence for human-like age-related gray matter atrophy in multiple regions of the chimpanzee brain, as well as, a general rightward asymmetry in brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam Vickery
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-UniversityDüsseldorfGermany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7) Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
| | - William D Hopkins
- Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterBastropUnited States
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington UniversityWashingtonUnited States
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterBastropUnited States
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
| | - Robert D Latzman
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State UniversityAtlantaUnited States
| | - Svenja Caspers
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Institute for Anatomy I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-UniversityDüsseldorfGermany
- JARA-BRAIN, Jülich-Aachen Research AllianceJülichGermany
| | - Christian Gaser
- Structural Brain Mapping Group, Department of Neurology, Jena University HospitalJenaGermany
- Structural Brain Mapping Group, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University HospitalJenaGermany
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-UniversityDüsseldorfGermany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7) Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
| | - Robert Dahnke
- Structural Brain Mapping Group, Department of Neurology, Jena University HospitalJenaGermany
- Structural Brain Mapping Group, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University HospitalJenaGermany
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus UniversityAarhusDenmark
| | - Felix Hoffstaedter
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-UniversityDüsseldorfGermany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-7) Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
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18
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Lacreuse A, Raz N, Schmidtke D, Hopkins WD, Herndon JG. Age-related decline in executive function as a hallmark of cognitive ageing in primates: an overview of cognitive and neurobiological studies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190618. [PMID: 32951543 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Executive function (EF) is a complex construct that reflects multiple higher-order cognitive processes such as planning, updating, inhibiting and set-shifting. Decline in these functions is a hallmark of cognitive ageing in humans, and age differences and changes in EF correlate with age-related differences and changes in association cortices, particularly the prefrontal areas. Here, we review evidence for age-related decline in EF and associated neurobiological changes in prosimians, New World and Old World monkeys, apes and humans. While EF declines with age in all primate species studied, the relationship of this decline with age-related alterations in the prefrontal cortex remains unclear, owing to the scarcity of neurobiological studies focusing on the ageing brain in most primate species. In addition, the influence of sex, vascular and metabolic risk, and hormonal status has rarely been considered. We outline several methodological limitations and challenges with the goal of producing a comprehensive integration of cognitive and neurobiological data across species and elucidating how ageing shapes neurocognitive trajectories in primates with different life histories, lifespans and brain architectures. Such comparative investigations are critical for fostering translational research and understanding healthy and pathological ageing in our own species. This article is part of the theme issue 'Evolution of the primate ageing process'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnès Lacreuse
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Tobin Hall, 135 Hicks Way, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
| | - Naftali Raz
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.,Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Daniel Schmidtke
- University of Veterinary Medicine, Foundation, Hannover, Germany
| | - William D Hopkins
- Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - James G Herndon
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
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19
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Fritz RG, Zimmermann E, Picq JL, Lautier C, Meier M, Kästner S, Schmidtke D. Sex-specific patterns of age-related cerebral atrophy in a nonhuman primate Microcebus murinus. Neurobiol Aging 2020; 91:148-159. [PMID: 32229027 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.02.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Revised: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Steadily aging populations result in a growing need for research regarding age-related brain alterations and neurodegenerative pathologies. By allowing a good translation of results to humans, nonhuman primates, such as the gray mouse lemur Microcebus murinus, have gained attention in this field. Our aim was to examine correlations between atrophy-induced brain alterations and age, with special focus on sex differences in mouse lemurs. For cerebral volumetric measurements, in vivo magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 59 animals (28♀♀/31♂♂) aged between 1.0 to 11.9 years. Volumes of different brain regions, cortical thicknesses, and ventricular expansions were evaluated. Analyses revealed significant brain atrophies with increasing age, particularly around the caudate nucleus, the thalamus, and frontal, parietal, and temporo-occipital regions. Especially old females showed a strong decline in cingulate cortex thickness and had higher values of ventricular expansion, whereas cortical thickness of the splenium and occipital regions decreased mainly in males. Our study, thus, provides first evidence for sex-specific, age-related brain alterations in a nonhuman primate, suggesting that mouse lemurs can help elucidating the mechanism underlying sex disparities in cerebral aging, for which there is mixed evidence in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca G Fritz
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
| | - Elke Zimmermann
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Jean-Luc Picq
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, Neurodegenerative Diseases Laboratory, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), Direction de la Recherche Fondamentale (DRF), Institut François Jacob, MIRCen, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et de Neuropsychologie, Université Paris 8, St Denis, France
| | - Corinne Lautier
- MMDN, University of Montpellier, EPHE, INSERM, U1198, PSL University, Montpellier, France
| | - Martin Meier
- ZTL-Imaging, Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Sabine Kästner
- Small Animal Clinic, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
| | - Daniel Schmidtke
- Institute of Zoology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany
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20
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Shi L, Liang P, Li A, Wong R, Luo Y, Liu K, Li L, Li K. Visualizing the neuroanatomical changes in Han Chinese adulthood: A pseudo-longitudinal study based on age-related large-scale statistical Chinese brain atlases. BRAIN SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020. [DOI: 10.1177/2096595820902583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective: Understanding how brain changes over lifetime provides the basis for new insights into neurophysiology and neuropathology. In this study, we carried out a pseudo-longitudinal study based on age-related Chinese brain atlases (i.e., Chinese2020) constructed from large-scale volumetric brain MRI data collected in normal Han Chinese adults at varying ages. Methods: In order to quantify the deformation and displacement of brains for each voxel as age increases, optical flow algorithm was employed to compute motion vectors between every two consecutive brain templates of the age-related brain atlas, i.e., Chinese2020. Results: Dynamic age-related neuroanatomical changes in a standardized brain space were shown. Overall, our results demonstrate that brain inward deformation (mainly due to atrophy) can appear in adulthood and this trend generally accelerates as age increases, affecting multiple regions including frontal cortex, temporal cortex, parietal cortex, and cerebellum, whereas occipital cortex is least affected by aging, and even showed some degree of outward deformation in the midlife. Conclusion: Our findings indicated more complicated age-related changes instead of a simple trend of brain volume decrease, which may be in line with the recently increasing interests in the age-related cortical complexity with other morphometry measures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Shi
- Research Center for Medical Image Computing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
- Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Peipeng Liang
- School of Psychology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, Capital Normal University, Beijing 10048, China
| | - Andy Li
- BrainNow Research Institute, Shenzhen 518081, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Raymond Wong
- BrainNow Research Institute, Shenzhen 518081, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Yishan Luo
- BrainNow Research Institute, Shenzhen 518081, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Kai Liu
- Research Center for Medical Image Computing, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
- Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
| | - Lening Li
- Shenzhen SmartView MedTech Limited, Shenzhen 518081, Guangdong Province, China
| | - Kuncheng Li
- Department of Radiology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
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21
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Neal Webb SJ, Hau J, Lambeth SP, Schapiro SJ. Differences in Behavior Between Elderly and Nonelderly Captive Chimpanzees and the Effects of the Social Environment. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR LABORATORY ANIMAL SCIENCE : JAALAS 2019; 58:783-789. [PMID: 31645233 PMCID: PMC6926406 DOI: 10.30802/aalas-jaalas-19-000019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Revised: 03/22/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The population of NIH-owned or NIH-supported captive research chimpanzees is quickly becoming aged, and the 1998 NIH breeding moratorium has resulted in a skewed age distribution. As such, behavioral management programs aimed at refining the care of an aging captive chimpanzee population have become increasingly important. However, little research exists that addresses the ways in which captive chimpanzee behavior differs as a function of the interaction of age and aspects of the captive environment. We examined overall differences in behavior between elderly (35 y and older) and nonelderly (younger than 35 y) captive chimpanzees. Elderly chimpanzees exhibited significantly more rough scratching (a behavioral indicator of anxiety) and inactivity, less behavioral diversity, and less affiliation than their nonelderly counterparts. We also assessed whether elderly chimpanzee behavior and wounding rates differed as a function of housing in geriatric (group average age, 35 y or older) or nongeriatric (group average age, younger than 35 y) groups. In our program, geriatric social groups were characterized by smaller group size, more females within the group, and higher levels of individual mobility impairment compared with nongeriatric groups. Furthermore, elderly chimpanzees housed in geriatric groups displayed significantly increased rough scratching, decreased locomotion and submission than nongeriatric animals but no difference in wounding. These findings suggest that housing elderly chimpanzees in nongeriatric groups may be beneficial, given that doing so may stimulate locomotion. However, the establishment and maintenance of geriatric groups may be unavoidable as the demographics of the population of captive former research chimpanzees continues to age. Therefore, refinements to captive geriatric care strategies for chimpanzees should focus on methods of evaluating and enhancing functionally appropriate captive environments within geriatric groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J Neal Webb
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Bastrop, Texas; Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark;,
| | - Jann Hau
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Bastrop, Texas
| | - Susan P Lambeth
- Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- Department of Comparative Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, Bastrop, Texas; Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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22
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Bryant KL, Glasser MF, Li L, Jae-Cheol Bae J, Jacquez NJ, Alarcón L, Fields A, Preuss TM. Organization of extrastriate and temporal cortex in chimpanzees compared to humans and macaques. Cortex 2019; 118:223-243. [PMID: 30910223 PMCID: PMC6697630 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.02.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Revised: 08/31/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
There is evidence for enlargement of association cortex in humans compared to other primate species. Expansion of temporal association cortex appears to have displaced extrastriate cortex posteriorly and inferiorly in humans compared to macaques. However, the details of the organization of these recently expanded areas are still being uncovered. Here, we used diffusion tractography to examine the organization of extrastriate and temporal association cortex in chimpanzees, humans, and macaques. Our goal was to characterize the organization of visual and auditory association areas with respect to their corresponding primary areas (primary visual cortex and auditory core) in humans and chimpanzees. We report three results: (1) Humans, chimpanzees, and macaques show expected retinotopic organization of primary visual cortex (V1) connectivity to V2 and to areas immediately anterior to V2; (2) In contrast to macaques, chimpanzee and human V1 shows apparent connectivity with lateral, inferior, and anterior temporal regions, beyond the retinotopically organized extrastriate areas; (3) Also in contrast to macaques, chimpanzee and human auditory core shows apparent connectivity with temporal association areas, with some important differences between humans and chimpanzees. Diffusion tractography reconstructs diffusion patterns that reflect white matter organization, but does not definitively represent direct anatomical connectivity. Therefore, it is important to recognize that our findings are suggestive of species differences in long-distance white matter organization rather than demonstrations of direct connections. Our data support the conclusion that expansion of temporal association cortex, and the resulting posterior displacement of extrastriate cortex, occurred in the human lineage after its separation from the chimpanzee lineage. It is possible, however, that some expansion of the temporal lobe occurred prior to the separation of humans and chimpanzees, reflected in the reorganization of long white matter tracts in the temporal lobe that connect occipital areas to the fusiform gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, and anterior temporal lobe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine L Bryant
- Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Diseases, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Matthew F Glasser
- Departments of Radiology and Neuroscience, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Longchuan Li
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jason Jae-Cheol Bae
- Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; College of Medicine, American University of Antigua, USA
| | - Nadine J Jacquez
- Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Laura Alarcón
- Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Archie Fields
- Department of Philosophy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Todd M Preuss
- Division of Neuropharmacology and Neurologic Diseases, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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23
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Hopkins WD, Latzman RD, Mareno MC, Schapiro SJ, Gómez-Robles A, Sherwood CC. Heritability of Gray Matter Structural Covariation and Tool Use Skills in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): A Source-Based Morphometry and Quantitative Genetic Analysis. Cereb Cortex 2019; 29:3702-3711. [PMID: 30307488 PMCID: PMC6686745 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2017] [Revised: 08/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Nonhuman primates, and great apes in particular, possess a variety of cognitive abilities thought to underlie human brain and cognitive evolution, most notably, the manufacture and use of tools. In a relatively large sample (N = 226) of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) for whom pedigrees are well known, the overarching aim of the current study was to investigate the source of heritable variation in brain structure underlying tool use skills. Specifically, using source-based morphometry (SBM), a multivariate analysis of naturally occurring patterns of covariation in gray matter across the brain, we investigated (1) the genetic contributions to variation in SBM components, (2) sex and age effects for each component, and (3) phenotypic and genetic associations between SBM components and tool use skill. Results revealed important sex- and age-related differences across largely heritable SBM components and associations between structural covariation and tool use skill. Further, shared genetic mechanisms appear to account for a heritable link between variation in both the capacity to use tools and variation in morphology of the superior limb of the superior temporal sulcus and adjacent parietal cortex. Findings represent the first evidence of heritability of structural covariation in gray matter among nonhuman primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Hopkins
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Robert D Latzman
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Mary Catherine Mareno
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Steven J Schapiro
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Bastrop, TX, USA
| | - Aida Gómez-Robles
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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24
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Shi L, Liang P, Li A, Wong R, Luo Y, Liu K, Li L, Li K. Visualizing the neuroanatomical changes in Han Chinese adulthood: A pseudo-longitudinal study based on age-related large-scale statistical Chinese brain atlases. BRAIN SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019. [DOI: 10.26599/bsa.2019.9050012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
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25
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Munger EL, Edler MK, Hopkins WD, Ely JJ, Erwin JM, Perl DP, Mufson EJ, Hof PR, Sherwood CC, Raghanti MA. Astrocytic changes with aging and Alzheimer's disease-type pathology in chimpanzees. J Comp Neurol 2019; 527:1179-1195. [PMID: 30578640 PMCID: PMC6401278 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2018] [Revised: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Astrocytes are the main homeostatic cell of the central nervous system. In addition, astrocytes mediate an inflammatory response when reactive to injury or disease known as astrogliosis. Astrogliosis is marked by an increased expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and cellular hypertrophy. Some degree of astrogliosis is associated with normal aging and degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other dementing illnesses in humans. The recent observation of pathological markers of AD (amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles) in aged chimpanzee brains provided an opportunity to examine the relationships among aging, AD-type pathology, and astrocyte activation in our closest living relatives. Stereologic methods were used to quantify GFAP-immunoreactive astrocyte density and soma volume in layers I, III, and V of the prefrontal and middle temporal cortex, as well as in hippocampal fields CA1 and CA3. We found that the patterns of astrocyte activation in the aged chimpanzee brain are distinct from humans. GFAP expression does not increase with age in chimpanzees, possibly indicative of lower oxidative stress loads. Similar to humans, chimpanzee layer I astrocytes in the prefrontal cortex are susceptible to AD-like changes. Both prefrontal cortex layer I and hippocampal astrocytes exhibit a high degree of astrogliosis that is positively correlated with accumulation of amyloid beta and tau proteins. However, unlike humans, chimpanzees do not display astrogliosis in other cortical layers. These results demonstrate a unique pattern of cortical aging in chimpanzees and suggest that inflammatory processes may differ between humans and chimpanzees in response to pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily L. Munger
- Department of Anthropology and School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
| | - Melissa K. Edler
- Department of Anthropology and School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio,Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio
| | - William D. Hopkins
- Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia
| | | | - Joseph M. Erwin
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Daniel P. Perl
- Department of Pathology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Elliott J. Mufson
- Departments of Neurobiology and Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York
| | - Chet C. Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia
| | - Mary Ann Raghanti
- Department of Anthropology and School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
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26
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Pope SM, Taglialatela JP, Skiba SA, Hopkins WD. Changes in Frontoparietotemporal Connectivity following Do-As-I-Do Imitation Training in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). J Cogn Neurosci 2018; 30:421-431. [DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Human imitation is supported by an underlying “mirror system” principally composed of inferior frontal, inferior parietal, and superior temporal cortical regions. Across primate species, differences in frontoparietotemporal connectivity have been hypothesized to explain phylogenetic variation in imitative abilities. However, if and to what extent these regions are involved in imitation in nonhuman primates is unknown. We hypothesized that “Do As I Do” (DAID) imitation training would enhance white matter integrity within and between frontoparietotemporal regions. To this end, four captive chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes) were trained to reproduce 23 demonstrated actions, and four age-/sex-matched controls were trained to produce basic husbandry behaviors in response to manual cues. Diffusion tensor images were acquired before and after 600 min of training over an average of 112 days. Bilateral and asymmetrical changes in frontoparietotemporal white matter integrity were compared between DAID trained subjects and controls. We found that imitation trained subjects exhibited leftward shifts in both mean fractional anisotropy and tract strength asymmetry measures in brain regions within the mirror system. This is the first report of training-induced changes in white matter integrity in chimpanzees and suggests that frontoparietotemporal connectivity, particularly in the left hemisphere, may have facilitated the emergence of increasingly complex imitation learning abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M. Pope
- Georgia State University
- CNRS and Aix-Marseille University, France
| | - Jared P. Taglialatela
- Kennesaw State University, GA
- Ape Cognition and Conservation Initiative, Des Moines, IA
| | | | - William D. Hopkins
- Georgia State University
- Ape Cognition and Conservation Initiative, Des Moines, IA
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27
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Madan CR, Kensinger EA. Predicting age from cortical structure across the lifespan. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 47:399-416. [PMID: 29359873 PMCID: PMC5835209 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2017] [Revised: 01/12/2018] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Despite interindividual differences in cortical structure, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have demonstrated a large degree of population-level consistency in age-related differences in brain morphology. This study assessed how accurately an individual's age could be predicted by estimates of cortical morphology, comparing a variety of structural measures, including thickness, gyrification and fractal dimensionality. Structural measures were calculated across up to seven different parcellation approaches, ranging from one region to 1000 regions. The age prediction framework was trained using morphological measures obtained from T1-weighted MRI volumes collected from multiple sites, yielding a training dataset of 1056 healthy adults, aged 18-97. Age predictions were calculated using a machine-learning approach that incorporated nonlinear differences over the lifespan. In two independent, held-out test samples, age predictions had a median error of 6-7 years. Age predictions were best when using a combination of cortical metrics, both thickness and fractal dimensionality. Overall, the results reveal that age-related differences in brain structure are systematic enough to enable reliable age prediction based on metrics of cortical morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R. Madan
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
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28
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Balbastre Y, Rivière D, Souedet N, Fischer C, Hérard AS, Williams S, Vandenberghe ME, Flament J, Aron-Badin R, Hantraye P, Mangin JF, Delzescaux T. Primatologist: A modular segmentation pipeline for macaque brain morphometry. Neuroimage 2017; 162:306-321. [PMID: 28899745 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Revised: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 09/04/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Because they bridge the genetic gap between rodents and humans, non-human primates (NHPs) play a major role in therapy development and evaluation for neurological disorders. However, translational research success from NHPs to patients requires an accurate phenotyping of the models. In patients, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with automated segmentation methods has offered the unique opportunity to assess in vivo brain morphological changes. Meanwhile, specific challenges caused by brain size and high field contrasts make existing algorithms hard to use routinely in NHPs. To tackle this issue, we propose a complete pipeline, Primatologist, for multi-region segmentation. Tissue segmentation is based on a modular statistical model that includes random field regularization, bias correction and denoising and is optimized by expectation-maximization. To deal with the broad variety of structures with different relaxing times at 7 T, images are segmented into 17 anatomical classes, including subcortical regions. Pre-processing steps insure a good initialization of the parameters and thus the robustness of the pipeline. It is validated on 10 T2-weighted MRIs of healthy macaque brains. Classification scores are compared with those of a non-linear atlas registration, and the impact of each module on classification scores is thoroughly evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaël Balbastre
- UMR9199, CNRS, CEA, Paris-Sud Univ., Univ. Paris-Saclay, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; MIRCen, Institut de biologie François Jacob, DRF, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; UNATI, NeuroSpin, Institut des sciences du vivant Frédéric Joliot, DRF, CEA, Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Denis Rivière
- UNATI, NeuroSpin, Institut des sciences du vivant Frédéric Joliot, DRF, CEA, Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; CATI Multicenter Neuroimaging Platform, France
| | - Nicolas Souedet
- UMR9199, CNRS, CEA, Paris-Sud Univ., Univ. Paris-Saclay, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; MIRCen, Institut de biologie François Jacob, DRF, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Clara Fischer
- UNATI, NeuroSpin, Institut des sciences du vivant Frédéric Joliot, DRF, CEA, Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; CATI Multicenter Neuroimaging Platform, France
| | - Anne-Sophie Hérard
- UMR9199, CNRS, CEA, Paris-Sud Univ., Univ. Paris-Saclay, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; MIRCen, Institut de biologie François Jacob, DRF, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Susannah Williams
- UMR9199, CNRS, CEA, Paris-Sud Univ., Univ. Paris-Saclay, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; MIRCen, Institut de biologie François Jacob, DRF, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Michel E Vandenberghe
- UMR9199, CNRS, CEA, Paris-Sud Univ., Univ. Paris-Saclay, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; MIRCen, Institut de biologie François Jacob, DRF, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Julien Flament
- MIRCen, Institut de biologie François Jacob, DRF, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; US27, INSERM, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Romina Aron-Badin
- UMR9199, CNRS, CEA, Paris-Sud Univ., Univ. Paris-Saclay, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; MIRCen, Institut de biologie François Jacob, DRF, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Philippe Hantraye
- UMR9199, CNRS, CEA, Paris-Sud Univ., Univ. Paris-Saclay, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; MIRCen, Institut de biologie François Jacob, DRF, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; US27, INSERM, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Jean-François Mangin
- UNATI, NeuroSpin, Institut des sciences du vivant Frédéric Joliot, DRF, CEA, Univ. Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; CATI Multicenter Neuroimaging Platform, France
| | - Thierry Delzescaux
- UMR9199, CNRS, CEA, Paris-Sud Univ., Univ. Paris-Saclay, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; MIRCen, Institut de biologie François Jacob, DRF, CEA, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France; Sorbonne Universités, Université Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France.
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29
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Franke K, Clarke GD, Dahnke R, Gaser C, Kuo AH, Li C, Schwab M, Nathanielsz PW. Premature Brain Aging in Baboons Resulting from Moderate Fetal Undernutrition. Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9:92. [PMID: 28443017 PMCID: PMC5386978 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Contrary to the known benefits from a moderate dietary reduction during adulthood on life span and health, maternal nutrient reduction during pregnancy is supposed to affect the developing brain, probably resulting in impaired brain structure and function throughout life. Decreased fetal nutrition delivery is widespread in both developing and developed countries, caused by poverty and natural disasters, but also due to maternal dieting, teenage pregnancy, pregnancy in women over 35 years of age, placental insufficiency, or multiples. Compromised development of fetal cerebral structures was already shown in our baboon model of moderate maternal nutrient reduction. The present study was designed to follow-up and evaluate the effects of moderate maternal nutrient reduction on individual brain aging in the baboon during young adulthood (4–7 years; human equivalent 14–24 years), applying a novel, non-invasive neuroimaging aging biomarker. The study reveals premature brain aging of +2.7 years (p < 0.01) in the female baboon exposed to fetal undernutrition. The effects of moderate maternal nutrient reduction on individual brain aging occurred in the absence of fetal growth restriction or marked maternal weight reduction at birth, which stresses the significance of early nutritional conditions in life-long developmental programming. This non-invasive MRI biomarker allows further longitudinal in vivo tracking of individual brain aging trajectories to assess the life-long effects of developmental and environmental influences in programming paradigms, aiding preventive and curative treatments on cerebral atrophy in experimental animal models and humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Franke
- Structural Brain Mapping Group, Department of Neurology, University Hospital JenaJena, Germany
| | - Geoffrey D Clarke
- Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center San AntonioSan Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Robert Dahnke
- Structural Brain Mapping Group, Department of Neurology, University Hospital JenaJena, Germany
| | - Christian Gaser
- Structural Brain Mapping Group, Department of Neurology, University Hospital JenaJena, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital JenaJena, Germany
| | - Anderson H Kuo
- Radiology, University of Texas Health Science Center San AntonioSan Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Cun Li
- Texas Pregnancy and Life Course Health Research Center, Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research InstituteSan Antonio, TX, USA.,Animal Science, University of WyomingLaramie, WY, USA
| | - Matthias Schwab
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital JenaJena, Germany
| | - Peter W Nathanielsz
- Texas Pregnancy and Life Course Health Research Center, Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research InstituteSan Antonio, TX, USA.,Animal Science, University of WyomingLaramie, WY, USA
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30
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Abstract
The density of cells and neurons in the neocortex of many mammals varies across cortical areas and regions. This variability is, perhaps, most pronounced in primates. Nonuniformity in the composition of cortex suggests regions of the cortex have different specializations. Specifically, regions with densely packed neurons contain smaller neurons that are activated by relatively few inputs, thereby preserving information, whereas regions that are less densely packed have larger neurons that have more integrative functions. Here we present the numbers of cells and neurons for 742 discrete locations across the neocortex in a chimpanzee. Using isotropic fractionation and flow fractionation methods for cell and neuron counts, we estimate that neocortex of one hemisphere contains 9.5 billion cells and 3.7 billion neurons. Primary visual cortex occupies 35 cm(2) of surface, 10% of the total, and contains 737 million densely packed neurons, 20% of the total neurons contained within the hemisphere. Other areas of high neuron packing include secondary visual areas, somatosensory cortex, and prefrontal granular cortex. Areas of low levels of neuron packing density include motor and premotor cortex. These values reflect those obtained from more limited samples of cortex in humans and other primates.
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31
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Lowenstine LJ, McManamon R, Terio KA. Comparative Pathology of Aging Great Apes: Bonobos, Chimpanzees, Gorillas, and Orangutans. Vet Pathol 2015; 53:250-76. [PMID: 26721908 DOI: 10.1177/0300985815612154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans) are our closest relatives. Despite the many similarities, there are significant differences in aging among apes, including the human ape. Common to all are dental attrition, periodontitis, tooth loss, osteopenia, and arthritis, although gout is uniquely human and spondyloarthropathy is more prevalent in apes than humans. Humans are more prone to frailty, sarcopenia, osteoporosis, longevity past reproductive senescence, loss of brain volume, and Alzheimer dementia. Cerebral vascular disease occurs in both humans and apes. Cardiovascular disease mortality increases in aging humans and apes, but coronary atherosclerosis is the most significant type in humans. In captive apes, idiopathic myocardial fibrosis and cardiomyopathy predominate, with arteriosclerosis of intramural coronary arteries. Similar cardiac lesions are occasionally seen in wild apes. Vascular changes in heart and kidneys and aortic dissections in gorillas and bonobos suggest that hypertension may be involved in pathogenesis. Chronic kidney disease is common in elderly humans and some aging apes and is linked with cardiovascular disease in orangutans. Neoplasms common to aging humans and apes include uterine leiomyomas in chimpanzees, but other tumors of elderly humans, such as breast, prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers, are uncommon in apes. Among the apes, chimpanzees have been best studied in laboratory settings, and more comparative research is needed into the pathology of geriatric zoo-housed and wild apes. Increasing longevity of humans and apes makes understanding aging processes and diseases imperative for optimizing quality of life in all the ape species.
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Affiliation(s)
- L J Lowenstine
- Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project-Gorilla Doctors, Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - R McManamon
- Zoo and Exotic Animal Pathology Service, Infectious Diseases Laboratory, Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
| | - K A Terio
- Zoological Pathology Program, University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, Maywood, IL, USA
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32
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Hopkins WD, Misiura M, Pope SM, Latash EM. Behavioral and brain asymmetries in primates: a preliminary evaluation of two evolutionary hypotheses. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2015; 1359:65-83. [PMID: 26426409 PMCID: PMC4715693 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.12936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Contrary to many historical views, recent evidence suggests that species-level behavioral and brain asymmetries are evident in nonhuman species. Here, we briefly present evidence of behavioral, perceptual, cognitive, functional, and neuroanatomical asymmetries in nonhuman primates. In addition, we describe two historical accounts of the evolutionary origins of hemispheric specialization and present data from nonhuman primates that address these specific theories. Specifically, we first discuss the evidence that genes play specific roles in determining left-right differences in anatomical and functional asymmetries in primates. We next consider and present data on the hypothesis that hemispheric specialization evolved as a by-product of increasing brain size relative to the surface area of the corpus callosum in different primate species. Last, we discuss some of the challenges in the study of hemispheric specialization in primates and offer some suggestions on how to advance the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- William D Hopkins
- Neuroscience Institute and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Maria Misiura
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Sarah M Pope
- Neuroscience Institute and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Elitaveta M Latash
- Neuroscience Institute and Language Research Center, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
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Oguz I, Styner M, Sanchez M, Shi Y, Sonka M. LOGISMOS-B for Primates: Primate Cortical Surface Reconstruction and Thickness Measurement. PROCEEDINGS OF SPIE--THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR OPTICAL ENGINEERING 2015; 9413. [PMID: 26028802 DOI: 10.1117/12.2082327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Cortical thickness and surface area are important morphological measures with implications for many psychiatric and neurological conditions. Automated segmentation and reconstruction of the cortical surface from 3D MRI scans is challenging due to the variable anatomy of the cortex and its highly complex geometry. While many methods exist for this task in the context of the human brain, these methods are typically not readily applicable to the primate brain. We propose an innovative approach based on our recently proposed human cortical reconstruction algorithm, LOGISMOS-B, and the Laplace-based thickness measurement method. Quantitative evaluation of our approach was performed based on a dataset of T1- and T2-weighted MRI scans from 12-month-old macaques where labeling by our anatomical experts was used as independent standard. In this dataset, LOGISMOS-B has an average signed surface error of 0.01 ± 0.03mm and an unsigned surface error of 0.42 ± 0.03mm over the whole brain. Excluding the rather problematic temporal pole region further improves unsigned surface distance to 0.34 ± 0.03mm. This high level of accuracy reached by our algorithm even in this challenging developmental dataset illustrates its robustness and its potential for primate brain studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ipek Oguz
- Iowa Institute for Biomedical Imaging, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, The Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
| | - Martin Styner
- Dept. of Psychiatry and Computer Science, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Mar Sanchez
- Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
| | - Yundi Shi
- Dept. of Psychiatry and Computer Science, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Milan Sonka
- Iowa Institute for Biomedical Imaging, Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, The Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
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