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González‐Acosta CA, Ortiz‐Muñoz D, Becerra‐Hernández LV, Casanova MF, Buriticá E. Von Economo neurons: Cellular specialization of human limbic cortices? J Anat 2022; 241:20-32. [PMID: 35178703 PMCID: PMC9178382 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Von Economo neurons (VENs) have been mentioned in the medical literature since the second half of the 19th century; however, it was not until the second decade of the 20th century that their cytomorphology was described in detail. To date, VENs have been found in limbic sectors of the frontal, temporal and insular lobes. In humans, their density seems to decrease in the caudo-rostral and ventro-dorsal direction; that is, from the anterior regions of the cingulate and insular cortices towards the frontal pole and the superior frontal gyrus. Several studies have provided similar descriptions of the shape of the VEN soma, but the size of the soma varies from one cortical region to another. There is consensus among different authors about the selective vulnerability of VENs in certain pathologies, in which a deterioration of the capacities involved in social behaviour is observed. In this review, we propose that the restriction of VENs towards the sectors linked to limbic information processing in Homo sapiens gives them a possible functional role in relation to the structures in which they are located. However, given the divergence in characteristics such as location, density, size and biochemical profile among VENs of different cortical sectors, the activities in which they participate could allow them to partake in a wide spectrum of neurological functions, including autonomic responses and executive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniela Ortiz‐Muñoz
- Centro de Estudios Cerebrales, Facultad de SaludUniversidad del ValleCaliColombia
| | | | - Manuel F. Casanova
- Center for Childhood NeurotherapeuticsUniversity of South Carolina School of Medicine GreenvilleGreenvilleSouth CarolinaUSA
| | - Efraín Buriticá
- Centro de Estudios Cerebrales, Facultad de SaludUniversidad del ValleCaliColombia
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Banovac I, Sedmak D, Judaš M, Petanjek Z. Von Economo Neurons - Primate-Specific or Commonplace in the Mammalian Brain? Front Neural Circuits 2021; 15:714611. [PMID: 34539353 PMCID: PMC8440978 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.714611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The pioneering work by von Economo in 1925 on the cytoarchitectonics of the cerebral cortex revealed a specialized and unique cell type in the adult human fronto-insular (FI) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In modern studies, these neurons are termed von Economo neurons (VENs). In his work, von Economo described them as stick, rod or corkscrew cells because of their extremely elongated and relatively thin cell body clearly distinguishable from common oval or spindle-shaped infragranular principal neurons. Before von Economo, in 1899 Cajal depicted the unique somato-dendritic morphology of such cells with extremely elongated soma in the FI. However, although VENs are increasingly investigated, Cajal’s observation is still mainly being neglected. On Golgi staining in humans, VENs have a thick and long basal trunk with horizontally oriented terminal branching (basilar skirt) from where the axon arises. They are clearly distinguishable from a spectrum of modified pyramidal neurons found in infragranular layers, including oval or spindle-shaped principal neurons. Spindle-shaped cells with highly elongated cell body were also observed in the ACC of great apes, but despite similarities in soma shape, their dendritic and axonal morphology has still not been described in sufficient detail. Studies identifying VENs in non-human species are predominantly done on Nissl or anti-NeuN staining. In most of these studies, the dendritic and axonal morphology of the analyzed cells was not demonstrated and many of the cells found on Nissl or anti-NeuN staining had a cell body shape characteristic for common oval or spindle-shaped cells. Here we present an extensive literature overview on VENs, which demonstrates that human VENs are specialized elongated principal cells with unique somato-dendritic morphology found abundantly in the FI and ACC of the human brain. More research is needed to properly evaluate the presence of such specialized cells in other primates and non-primate species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Banovac
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.,Croatian Institute for Brain Research and Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dora Sedmak
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.,Croatian Institute for Brain Research and Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Miloš Judaš
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research and Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Zdravko Petanjek
- Department of Anatomy and Clinical Anatomy, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.,Croatian Institute for Brain Research and Center of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
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Jacob J, Kent M, Benson-Amram S, Herculano-Houzel S, Raghanti MA, Ploppert E, Drake J, Hindi B, Natale NR, Daniels S, Fanelli R, Miller A, Landis T, Gilbert A, Johnson S, Lai A, Hyer M, Rzucidlo A, Anchor C, Gehrt S, Lambert K. Cytoarchitectural characteristics associated with cognitive flexibility in raccoons. J Comp Neurol 2021; 529:3375-3388. [PMID: 34076254 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2021] [Revised: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
With rates of psychiatric illnesses such as depression continuing to rise, additional preclinical models are needed to facilitate translational neuroscience research. In the current study, the raccoon (Procyon lotor) was investigated due to its similarities with primate brains, including comparable proportional neuronal densities, cortical magnification of the forepaw area, and cortical gyrification. Specifically, we report on the cytoarchitectural characteristics of raccoons profiled as high, intermediate, or low solvers in a multiaccess problem-solving task. Isotropic fractionation indicated that high-solvers had significantly more cells in the hippocampus (HC) than the other solving groups; further, a nonsignificant trend suggested that this increase in cell profile density was due to increased nonneuronal (e.g., glial) cells. Group differences were not observed in the cellular density of the somatosensory cortex. Thionin-based staining confirmed the presence of von Economo neurons (VENs) in the frontoinsular cortex, although no impact of solving ability on VEN cell profile density levels was observed. Elongated fusiform cells were quantified in the HC dentate gyrus where high-solvers were observed to have higher levels of this cell type than the other solving groups. In sum, the current findings suggest that varying cytoarchitectural phenotypes contribute to cognitive flexibility. Additional research is necessary to determine the translational value of cytoarchitectural distribution patterns on adaptive behavioral outcomes associated with cognitive performance and mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Jacob
- Department of Psychology, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Molly Kent
- Department of Biology, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia, USA
| | - Sarah Benson-Amram
- Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.,Department of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Center, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Mary Ann Raghanti
- Department of Anthropology, School of Biomedical Sciences, and Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA
| | - Emily Ploppert
- Department of Psychology, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Jack Drake
- Department of Psychology, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Bilal Hindi
- Department of Psychology, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Nick R Natale
- Department of Psychology, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Sarah Daniels
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Rachel Fanelli
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Anderson Miller
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Tim Landis
- Department of Psychology, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia, USA
| | - Amy Gilbert
- USDA-APHIS-WS National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Shylo Johnson
- USDA-APHIS-WS National Wildlife Research Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
| | - Annie Lai
- Department of Psychology, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Molly Hyer
- Department of Psychology, Randolph-Macon College, Ashland, Virginia, USA
| | - Amanda Rzucidlo
- Forest Preserve District of Cook County, River Forest, Illinois, USA
| | - Chris Anchor
- Forest Preserve District of Cook County, River Forest, Illinois, USA
| | - Stan Gehrt
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Kelly Lambert
- Department of Psychology, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA
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González-Acosta CA, Escobar MI, Casanova MF, Pimienta HJ, Buriticá E. Von Economo Neurons in the Human Medial Frontopolar Cortex. Front Neuroanat 2018; 12:64. [PMID: 30127726 PMCID: PMC6087737 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2018.00064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2018] [Accepted: 07/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The von Economo neurons (VEN) are characterized by a large soma, spindle-like soma, with little dendritic arborization at both, the basal and apical poles. In humans, VENs have been described in the entorhinal cortex, the hippocampal formation, the anterior cingulate cortex, the rostral portion of the insula and the dorsomedial Brodmann's area 9 (BA9). These cortical regions have been associated with cognitive functions such as social interactions, intuition and emotional processing. Previous studies that searched for the presence of these cells in the lateral frontal poles yielded negative results. The presence of VENs in other cortical areas on the medial surface of the human prefrontal cortex which share both a common functional network and similar laminar organization, led us to examine its presence in the medial portion of the frontal pole. In the present study, we used tissue samples from five postmortem subjects taken from the polar portion of BA10, on the medial surface of both hemispheres. We found VENs in the human medial BA10, although they are very scarce and dispersed. We also observed crests and walls of the gyrus to quantitatively assess: (A) interhemispheric asymmetries, (B) the VENs/pyramidal ratio, (C) the area of the soma of VENs and (D) the difference in soma area between VENs and pyramidal and fusiform cells. We found that VENs are at least seven times more abundant on the right hemisphere and at least 2.5 times more abundant in the crest than in the walls of the gyrus. The soma size of VENs in the medial frontopolar cortex is larger than that of pyramidal and fusiform cells of layer VI, and their size is larger in the walls than in the crests. Our finding might be a contribution to the understanding of the role of these neurons in the functional networks in which all the areas in which they have been found are linked. However, the particularities of VENs in the frontal pole, as their size and quantity, may also lead us to interpret the findings in the light of other positions such as van Essen's theory of tension-based brain morphogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Martha Isabel Escobar
- Centro de Estudios Cerebrales, Facultad de Salud, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Manuel Fernando Casanova
- Center for Childhood Neurotherapeutics, School of Medicine Greenville, University of South Carolina, Greenville, SC, United States
| | - Hernán J Pimienta
- Centro de Estudios Cerebrales, Facultad de Salud, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
| | - Efraín Buriticá
- Centro de Estudios Cerebrales, Facultad de Salud, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
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