The anatomical record : advances in integrative anatomy and evolutionary biology
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We examined the morphology of the autonomic cardiac nervous system (ACNS) on 20 sides of 10 gibbons (Hylobatidae) of three genera, and we have inferred the evolution of the anatomy of the primate ACNS. We report the following. (1) Several trivial intraspecific and interspecific variations are present in gibbons, but the general arrangement of the ACNS in gibbons is consistent. (2) Although the parasympathetic vagal cardiac nervous system is extremely consistent, the sympathetic cardiac nervous system, such as the composition of the sympathetic ganglia and the range of origin of the sympathetic cardiac nerves, exhibit topographical differences among primates. (3) The vertebral ganglion, seldom observed in the Old World monkeys (Cercopithecidae), was consistently present in gibbons as well as in humans. (4) There are fewer thoracic ganglia contributing to the cervicothoracic ganglion in humans than in gibbons and in gibbons than in Old World monkeys. (5) The superior cardiac nerve originating from the superior cervical ganglion, rarely observed in Old World monkeys but commonly observed in humans, was present in 13 of 20 sides (65%), mostly on the left. ⋯ These evolutionary differences between Old World monkeys, gibbons, and humans are most parsimoniously interpreted as resulting from regular changes in the lineages leading from their common ancestor to the extant species that we dissected. They include the reduction in the number of thoracic ganglia contributing to the cervicothoracic ganglion and the expansion of the range of the cardiac nervous origin.
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The hierarchical relationship of the rat primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and secondary somatosensory cortex (S2) is controversial. The existence of a direct thalamocortical projection from ventral posterolateral thalamic nucleus (VPL) to S2 is a key factor in determining the relative position of S2 in the processing flow. In this study, the inter-connections of forepaw and hindpaw representations in VPL, S1, and S2 were examined by neuroanatomical tracing and electrophysiological approaches. ⋯ In the electrophysiological studies, paired somatic evoked multiunit responses in S1 and S2 were compared. Our results revealed that: (1) VPL forepaw and hindpaw neurons projected to corresponding S1 and S2 areas in a parallel and somatotopic manner; (2) very low percentage of double projecting VPL neurons were found, indicating parallel and independent pathways from forepaw VPL to S1 and S2; (3) forepaw S1 and S2 were symmetrically and reciprocally connected; (4) response latencies of the S1 and S2 multiunits to forepaw stimulation were in accordance with a direct and parallel pathway. This study provides further evidence to support the equivalent hierarchy of S1 and S2 in processing sensory information of the rat.