Cerebral Cortex November 2003; 13:1124-1138
© Oxford University Press 2003
Cortex, Cognition and the Cell: New Insights into the Pyramidal Neuron and Prefrontal Function
Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Centre, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Arguably the most complex cortical functions are seated in human cognition, the how and why of which have been debated for centuries by theologians, philosophers and scientists alike. In his best-selling book, An Astonishing Hypothesis: A Scientific Search for the Soul, Francis Crick refined the view that these qualities are determined solely by cortical cells and circuitry. Put simply, cognition is nothing more, or less, than a biological function. Accepting this to be the case, it should be possible to identify the mechanisms that subserve cognitive processing. Since the pioneering studies of Lorent de Nó and Hebb, and the more recent studies of Fuster, Miller and Goldman-Rakic, to mention but a few, much attention has been focused on the role of persistent neural activity in cognitive processes. Application of modern technologies and modelling techniques has led to new hypotheses about the mechanisms of persistent activity. Here I focus on how regional variations in the pyramidal cell phenotype may determine the complexity of cortical circuitry and, in turn, influence neural activity. Data obtained from thousands of individually injected pyramidal cells in sensory, motor, association and executive cortex reveal marked differences in the numbers of putative excitatory inputs received by these cells. Pyramidal cells in prefrontal cortex have, on average, up to 23 times more dendritic spines than those in the primary visual area. I propose that without these specializations in the structure of pyramidal cells, and the circuits they form, human cognitive processing would not have evolved to its present state. I also present data from both New World and Old World monkeys that show varying degrees of complexity in the pyramidal cell phenotype in their prefrontal cortices, suggesting that cortical circuitry and, thus, cognitive styles are evolving independently in different species.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  K. Morita Possible Role of Dendritic Compartmentalization in the Spatial Working Memory Circuit J. Neurosci., July 23, 2008; 28(30): 7699 - 7724. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M.C. Inda, J. DeFelipe, and A. Munoz Morphology and Distribution of Chandelier Cell Axon Terminals in the Mouse Cerebral Cortex and Claustroamygdaloid Complex Cereb Cortex, April 24, 2008; (2008) bhn057v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Arsiero, H.-R. Luscher, B. N. Lundstrom, and M. Giugliano The Impact of Input Fluctuations on the Frequency-Current Relationships of Layer 5 Pyramidal Neurons in the Rat Medial Prefrontal Cortex J. Neurosci., March 21, 2007; 27(12): 3274 - 3284. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I Ballesteros-Yanez, E Ambrosio, R Benavides-Piccione, J Perez, I Torres, M Miguens, C Garcia-Lecumberri, and J DeFelipe The Effects of Morphine Self-Administration on Cortical Pyramidal Cell Structure in Addiction-Prone Lewis Rats Cereb Cortex, January 1, 2007; 17(1): 238 - 249. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. H. Morrison, R. D. Brinton, P. J. Schmidt, and A. C. Gore Estrogen, Menopause, and the Aging Brain: How Basic Neuroscience Can Inform Hormone Therapy in Women J. Neurosci., October 11, 2006; 26(41): 10332 - 10348. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Benavides-Piccione, F. Hamzei-Sichani, I. Ballesteros-Yanez, J. DeFelipe, and R. Yuste Dendritic Size of Pyramidal Neurons Differs among Mouse Cortical Regions Cereb Cortex, July 1, 2006; 16(7): 990 - 1001. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 G. Scerif, A. Karmiloff-Smith, R. Campos, M. Elsabbagh, J. Driver, and K. Cornish To Look or Not to Look? Typical and Atypical Development of Oculomotor Control J. Cogn. Neurosci., April 1, 2005; 17(4): 591 - 604. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. N. Elston, R. Benavides-Piccione, and J. DeFelipe A Study of Pyramidal Cell Structure in the Cingulate Cortex of the Macaque Monkey with Comparative Notes on Inferotemporal and Primary Visual Cortex Cereb Cortex, January 1, 2005; 15(1): 64 - 73. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|