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An assessment of the existence of adult neurogenesis in humans and value of its rodent models for neuropsychiatric diseases. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:377-382. [PMID: 34667259 PMCID: PMC8967762 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01314-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In sub-mammalian vertebrates like fishes, amphibians, and reptiles, new neurons are produced during the entire lifespan. This capacity diminishes considerably in birds and even more in mammals where it persists only in the olfactory system and hippocampal dentate gyrus. Adult neurogenesis declines even more drastically in nonhuman primates and recent evidence shows that this is basically extinct in humans. Why should such seemingly useful capacity diminish during primate evolution? It has been proposed that this occurs because of the need to retain acquired complex knowledge in stable populations of neurons and their synaptic connections during many decades of human life. In this review, we will assess critically the claim of significant adult neurogenesis in humans and show how current evidence strongly indicates that humans lack this trait. In addition, we will discuss the allegation of many rodent studies that adult neurogenesis is involved in psychiatric diseases and that it is a potential mechanism for human neuron replacement and regeneration. We argue that these reports, which usually neglect significant structural and functional species-specific differences, mislead the general population into believing that there might be a cure for a variety of neuropsychiatric diseases as well as stroke and brain trauma by genesis of new neurons and their incorporation into existing synaptic circuitry.
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Constitutive Neurogenesis in the Brain of Different Vertebrate Groups. NEUROPHYSIOLOGY+ 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11062-021-09904-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Benítez-Burraco A. Mental time travel, language evolution, and human self-domestication. Cogn Process 2021; 22:363-367. [DOI: 10.1007/s10339-020-01005-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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LaDage LD. Broadening the functional and evolutionary understanding of postnatal neurogenesis using reptilian models. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020; 223:223/15/jeb210542. [PMID: 32788272 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.210542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The production of new neurons in the brains of adult animals was first identified by Altman and Das in 1965, but it was not until the late 20th century when methods for visualizing new neuron production improved that there was a dramatic increase in research on neurogenesis in the adult brain. We now know that adult neurogenesis is a ubiquitous process that occurs across a wide range of taxonomic groups. This process has largely been studied in mammals; however, there are notable differences between mammals and other taxonomic groups in how, why and where new neuron production occurs. This Review will begin by describing the processes of adult neurogenesis in reptiles and identifying the similarities and differences in these processes between reptiles and model rodent species. Further, this Review underscores the importance of appreciating how wild-caught animals vary in neurogenic properties compared with laboratory-reared animals and how this can be used to broaden the functional and evolutionary understanding of why and how new neurons are produced in the adult brain. Studying variation in neural processes across taxonomic groups provides an evolutionary context to adult neurogenesis while also advancing our overall understanding of neurogenesis and brain plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara D LaDage
- Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Penn State Altoona, 3000 Ivyside Dr., Altoona, PA 16601, USA
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Oppenheim RW. Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Mammals (and Humans): The Death of a Central Dogma in Neuroscience and its Replacement by a New Dogma. Dev Neurobiol 2019; 79:268-280. [DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2018] [Revised: 03/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ronald W. Oppenheim
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, The Neuroscience Program Wake Forest School of Medicine Medical Center Blvd. Winston‐Salem NC 27157‐1010
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Cabirol A, Brooks R, Groh C, Barron AB, Devaud JM. Experience during early adulthood shapes the learning capacities and the number of synaptic boutons in the mushroom bodies of honey bees ( Apis mellifera). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 24:557-562. [PMID: 28916631 PMCID: PMC5602345 DOI: 10.1101/lm.045492.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2017] [Accepted: 07/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The honey bee mushroom bodies (MBs) are brain centers required for specific learning tasks. Here, we show that environmental conditions experienced as young adults affect the maturation of MB neuropil and performance in a MB-dependent learning task. Specifically, olfactory reversal learning was selectively impaired following early exposure to an impoverished environment lacking some of the sensory and social interactions present in the hive. In parallel, the overall number of synaptic boutons increased within the MB olfactory neuropil, whose volume remained unaffected. This suggests that experience of the rich in-hive environment promotes MB maturation and the development of MB-dependent learning capacities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Cabirol
- Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse 31062 France.,Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Rufus Brooks
- Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse 31062 France
| | - Claudia Groh
- Department of Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, University of Würzburg, Biozentrum, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Andrew B Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Jean-Marc Devaud
- Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), Toulouse University, CNRS, UPS, Toulouse 31062 France
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Schaefers ATU, Teuchert-Noodt G. Developmental neuroplasticity and the origin of neurodegenerative diseases. World J Biol Psychiatry 2016; 17:587-599. [PMID: 23705632 DOI: 10.3109/15622975.2013.797104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease, marked by characteristic protein aggregations, are more and more accepted to be synaptic disorders and to arise from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In this review we propose our concept that neuroplasticity might constitute a link between early life challenges and neurodegeneration. METHODS After introducing the general principles of neuroplasticity, we show how adverse environmental stimuli during development impact adult neuroplasticity and might lead to neurodegenerative processes. RESULTS There are significant overlaps between neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative processes. Proteins that represent hallmarks of neurodegeneration are involved in plastic processes under physiological conditions. Brain regions - particularly the hippocampus - that retain life-long plastic capacities are the key targets of neurodegeneration. Neuroplasticity is highest in young age making the brain more susceptible to external influences than later in life. Impacts during critical periods have life-long consequences on neuroplasticity and structural self-organization and are known to be common risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases. CONCLUSIONS Several lines of evidence support a link between developmental neuroplasticity and neurodegenerative processes later in life. A deeper insight into these processes is necessary to design strategies to mitigate or even prevent neurodegenerative pathologies.
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Lipp HP, Bonfanti L. Adult Neurogenesis in Mammals: Variations and Confusions. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2016; 87:205-221. [DOI: 10.1159/000446905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Mammalian adult neurogenesis has remained enigmatic. Two lines of research have emerged. One focuses on a potential repair mechanism in the human brain. The other aims at elucidating its functional role in the hippocampal formation, chiefly in cognitive processes; however, thus far it has been unsuccessful. Here, we try to recognize the sources of errors and conceptual confusion in comparative studies and neurobehavioral approaches with a focus on mice. Evolutionarily, mammalian adult neurogenesis appears as protracted juvenile neurogenesis originating from precursor cells in the secondary proliferation zones, from where newly formed cells migrate to target regions in the forebrain. This late developmental process is downregulated differentially in various brain structures depending on species and age. Adult neurogenesis declines substantially during early adulthood and persists at low levels into senescence. Short-lasting episodes in proliferation or reduction of adult neurogenesis may reflect a multitude of factors, and have been studied chiefly in mice and rats. Comparative studies face both species-specific variations in staining and technical abilities of laboratories, lacking quantification of important reference measures (e.g. granule cell number) and evaluation of maturational markers whose persistence might be functionally more relevant than proliferation rates. Likewise, the confusion about the functional role of variations in adult hippocampal neurogenesis has many causes. Prominent is an inferential statistical approach, usually with low statistical power. Interpretation is complicated by multiple theories about hippocampal function, often unrealistically extrapolating from humans to rodents. We believe that the field of mammalian adult neurogenesis needs more critical thinking, more sophisticated hypotheses, better statistical, technical and behavioral approaches, and a broader conceptual perspective incorporating comparative aspects rather than neglecting them.
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Schaefers AT. Environmental enrichment and working memory tasks decrease hippocampal cell proliferation after wheel running – A role for the prefrontal cortex in hippocampal plasticity? Brain Res 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2015.07.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Breed-specific expression of GR exon 1 mRNA variants and profile of GR promoter CpG methylation in the hippocampus of newborn piglets. Animal 2015; 8:1851-6. [PMID: 25322790 DOI: 10.1017/s1751731114001700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Glucocorticoid receptor (GR) transcription is driven by alternative promoters to produce different exon 1 mRNA variants. CpG methylation on GR promoters profoundly affects GR transcription. GR in hippocampus is critical for energy homeostasis and stress responses, yet it remains unclear whether hippocampal expression of GR exon 1 mRNA variants and the methylation status of GR promoters differ between Large White (LW) and Erhualian (EHL) pigs showing distinct metabolic and stress-coping characteristics. EHL pigs had higher hippocampus weight relative to BW (P<0.01), which was associated with higher serum cortisol level compared with LW pigs. Hippocampal expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (P<0.05) was significantly higher, while Bax, a pro-apoptotic gene, was significantly lower in EHL pigs (P<0.05). Hippocampal expression of total GR did not differ between breeds, yet GR exon 1 to 11 mRNA was significantly higher (P<0.01) in EHL pigs, which was associated with a trend of increase (P=0.057) in GR protein content. No significant breed difference was detected for the methylation status across the whole region of the proximal GR promoter, while CpG334 and CpG266.267 were differentially methylated, in a reversed manner, between breeds. The methylation status of CpGs 248, 259, 260, 268 and 271 was negatively correlated (P<0.05) with GR exon 1 to 11 mRNA abundance. Our results provide fundamental information on the breed-specific characteristics of GR and its mRNA variants expression and the status of DNA methylation on the proximal GR promoter in the pig hippocampus.
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Amrein I. Adult hippocampal neurogenesis in natural populations of mammals. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2015; 7:7/5/a021295. [PMID: 25934014 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a021295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
This review will discuss adult hippocampal neurogenesis in wild mammals of different taxa and outline similarities with and differences from laboratory animals. It begins with a review of evidence for hippocampal neurogenesis in various mammals, and shows the similar patterns of age-dependent decline in cell proliferation in wild and domesticated mammals. In contrast, the pool of immature neurons that originate from proliferative activity varies between species, implying a selective advantage for mammals that can make use of a large number of these functionally special neurons. Furthermore, rapid adaptation of hippocampal neurogenesis to experimental challenges appears to be a characteristic of laboratory rodents. Wild mammals show species-specific, rather stable hippocampal neurogenesis, which appears related to demands that characterize the niche exploited by a species rather than to acute events in the life of its members. Studies that investigate adult neurogenesis in wild mammals are not numerous, but the findings of neurogenesis under natural conditions can provide new insights, and thereby also address the question to which cognitive demands neurogenesis may respond during selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irmgard Amrein
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Zürich-Irchel, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland
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Huang S, Slomianka L, Farmer AJ, Kharlamova AV, Gulevich RG, Herbeck YE, Trut LN, Wolfer DP, Amrein I. Selection for tameness, a key behavioral trait of domestication, increases adult hippocampal neurogenesis in foxes. Hippocampus 2015; 25:963-75. [DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/15/2015] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Shihhui Huang
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology; Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport; ETH Zurich Zürich Switzerland
- Division of Functional Neuroanatomy; Institute of Anatomy, Functional Neuroanatomy, University of Zurich; Zürich Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich; Zürich Switzerland
| | - Lutz Slomianka
- Division of Functional Neuroanatomy; Institute of Anatomy, Functional Neuroanatomy, University of Zurich; Zürich Switzerland
| | | | - Anastasiya V. Kharlamova
- Division of Siberian; Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Novosibirsk Russia
| | - Rimma G. Gulevich
- Division of Siberian; Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Novosibirsk Russia
| | - Yury E. Herbeck
- Division of Siberian; Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Novosibirsk Russia
| | - Lyudmila N. Trut
- Division of Siberian; Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Novosibirsk Russia
| | - David P. Wolfer
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology; Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport; ETH Zurich Zürich Switzerland
- Division of Functional Neuroanatomy; Institute of Anatomy, Functional Neuroanatomy, University of Zurich; Zürich Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich; Zürich Switzerland
- Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology ZIHP; University of Zurich; Zurich Switzerland
| | - Irmgard Amrein
- Division of Functional Neuroanatomy; Institute of Anatomy, Functional Neuroanatomy, University of Zurich; Zürich Switzerland
- Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich; Zürich Switzerland
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Müller W, Haffelder G, Schlotmann A, Schaefers ATU, Teuchert-Noodt G. Amelioration of psychiatric symptoms through exposure to music individually adapted to brain rhythm disorders - a randomised clinical trial on the basis of fundamental research. Cogn Neuropsychiatry 2015; 19:399-413. [PMID: 24460405 DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2013.879054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION This pilot study examined, whether long-term exposure of psychiatric patients to music that was individually adapted to brain rhythm disorders associated with psychoticism could act to ameliorate psychiatric symptoms. METHODS A total of 50 patients with various psychiatric diagnoses were randomised in a 1:1 ratio to listen to CDs containing either music adapted to brain rhythm anomalies associated with psychoticism - measured via a specific spectral analysis - or standard classical music. Participants were instructed to listen to the CDs over the next 18 months. Psychiatric symptoms in both groups were assessed at baseline and at 4, 8 and 18 months, using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). RESULTS At 18 months, patients in the experimental group showed significantly decreased BSI scores compared to control patients. Intriguingly, this effect was not only seen for symptoms of psychoticism and paranoia but also for anxiety, phobic anxiety and somatisation. CONCLUSIONS Exposure to the adapted music was effective in ameliorating psychotic, anxiety and phobic anxiety symptoms. Based on the theories of neuroplasticity and brain rhythms, it can be hypothesised that this intervention may be enhancing brain-rhythm synchronisation and plasticity in prefrontal-hippocampal circuits that are implicated in both psychosis/paranoia and anxiety/phobic anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolf Müller
- a Psychiatric Institution at Herford Hospital , Bünde , Germany
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Schoenfeld TJ, Cameron HA. Adult neurogenesis and mental illness. Neuropsychopharmacology 2015; 40:113-28. [PMID: 25178407 PMCID: PMC4262910 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2014.230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2014] [Revised: 08/28/2014] [Accepted: 08/28/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Several lines of evidence suggest that adult neurogenesis, the production of new neurons in adulthood, may play a role in psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. Medications and other treatments for mental disorders often promote the proliferation of new neurons; the time course for maturation and integration of new neurons in circuitry parallels the delayed efficacy of psychiatric therapies; adverse and beneficial experiences similarly affect development of mental illness and neurogenesis; and ablation of new neurons in adulthood alters the behavioral impact of drugs in animal models. At present, the links between adult neurogenesis and depression seem stronger than those suggesting a relationship between new neurons and anxiety or schizophrenia. Yet, even in the case of depression there is currently no direct evidence for a causative role. This article reviews the data relating adult neurogenesis to mental illness and discusses where research needs to head in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J Schoenfeld
- Section on Neuroplasticity, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Heather A Cameron
- Section on Neuroplasticity, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA,Section on Neuroplasticity, NIMH, 35 Convent Drive, Building 35/3C915, Bethesda, MD 20892-3718, USA, Tel: +1 301 496 3814, Fax: +1 301 480 4564, E-mail:
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Cavegn N, van Dijk RM, Menges D, Brettschneider H, Phalanndwa M, Chimimba CT, Isler K, Lipp HP, Slomianka L, Amrein I. Habitat-specific shaping of proliferation and neuronal differentiation in adult hippocampal neurogenesis of wild rodents. Front Neurosci 2013; 7:59. [PMID: 23616743 PMCID: PMC3629335 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2013.00059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2013] [Accepted: 03/31/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Daily life of wild mammals is characterized by a multitude of attractive and aversive stimuli. The hippocampus processes complex polymodal information associated with such stimuli and mediates adequate behavioral responses. How newly generated hippocampal neurons in wild animals contribute to hippocampal function is still a subject of debate. Here, we test the relationship between adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) and habitat types. To this end, we compare wild Muridae species of southern Africa [Namaqua rock mouse (Micaelamys namaquensis), red veld rat (Aethomys chrysophilus), highveld gerbil (Tatera brantsii), and spiny mouse (Acomys spinosissimus)] with data from wild European Muridae [long-tailed wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), pygmy field mice (Apodemus microps), yellow-necked wood mice (Apodemus flavicollis), and house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)] from previous studies. The pattern of neurogenesis, expressed in normalized numbers of Ki67- and Doublecortin(DCX)-positive cells to total granule cells (GCs), is similar for the species from a southern African habitat. However, we found low proliferation, but high neuronal differentiation in rodents from the southern African habitat compared to rodents from the European environment. Within the African rodents, we observe additional regulatory and morphological traits in the hippocampus. Namaqua rock mice with previous pregnancies showed lower AHN compared to males and nulliparous females. The phylogenetically closely related species (Namaqua rock mouse and red veld rat) show a CA4, which is not usually observed in murine rodents. The specific features of the southern environment that may be associated with the high number of young neurons in African rodents still remain to be elucidated. This study provides the first evidence that a habitat can shape adult neurogenesis in rodents across phylogenetic groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Cavegn
- Institute of Anatomy, University of Zurich Zurich, Switzerland
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