title: The parahippocampal gyrus in the baboon: anatomical, cytoarchitectonic and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies.
abstract: The parahippocampal gyrus, located at the medial temporal lobe, is a key structure in declarative memory processing. We have analyzed the general organization of the parahippocampal gyrus in the baboon, a nonhuman primate species relatively close to human. This region is rostrocaudally made up of the temporopolar, perirhinal, entorhinal (divided into seven subfields) and posterior parahippocampal (areas TH and TF) cortices. The basic analysis has been performed in three brains, serially sectioned and stained with thionin, myelin stain, acetylcholinesterase and parvalbumin, to determine cytoarchitectonic boundaries. Borders of all subfields were charted onto camera lucida drawings, and two-dimensional maps of the surface and topography of the parahippocampal gyrus were made. Finally, the limits of each parahippocampal area were then transposed on corresponding MR images (commonly used for in vivo PET or functional MRI activation studies) of two animals for precise identification. The general cytoarchitectonic features of the baboon parahippocampal gyrus are similar to macaques, but the size of temporopolar cortex and the laminar organization of perirhinal and posterior parahippocampal cortices resemble humans more than macaque species. In conclusion, the size and structure of the baboon parahippocampal cortex makes this species very appropriate for experimental studies on memory function.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Human Neuroanatomy, Department of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Castilla-La Mancha and Centro Regional de Investigaciones Biomedicas, Albacete, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Blaizot
authors.forename: Alino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martinez-Marcos
authors.forename: Maria del Mar
authors.initials: Mdel M
authors.lastname: Arroyo-Jimenez Md
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marcos
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Artacho-Pérula
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muñoz
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chavoix
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Insausti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D018728:Entorhinal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D010215:Papio / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D020534:Parahippocampal Gyrus / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology