title: Comparative neuronal morphology of the cerebellar cortex in afrotherians, carnivores, cetartiodactyls, and primates.
abstract: Although the basic morphological characteristics of neurons in the cerebellar cortex have been documented in several species, virtually nothing is known about the quantitative morphological characteristics of these neurons across different taxa. To that end, the present study investigated cerebellar neuronal morphology among eight different, large-brained mammalian species comprising a broad phylogenetic range: afrotherians (African elephant, Florida manatee), carnivores (Siberian tiger, clouded leopard), cetartiodactyls (humpback whale, giraffe) and primates (human, common chimpanzee). Specifically, several neuron types (e.g., stellate, basket, Lugaro, Golgi, and granule neurons; N = 317) of the cerebellar cortex were stained with a modified rapid Golgi technique and quantified on a computer-assisted microscopy system. There was a 64-fold variation in brain mass across species in our sample (from clouded leopard to the elephant) and a 103-fold variation in cerebellar volume. Most dendritic measures tended to increase with cerebellar volume. The cerebellar cortex in these species exhibited the trilaminate pattern common to all mammals. Morphologically, neuron types in the cerebellar cortex were generally consistent with those described in primates (Fox et al., 1967) and rodents (Palay and Chan-Palay, 1974), although there was substantial quantitative variation across species. In particular, Lugaro neurons in the elephant appeared to be disproportionately larger than those in other species. To explore potential quantitative differences in dendritic measures across species, MARSplines analyses were used to evaluate whether species could be differentiated from each other based on dendritic characteristics alone. Results of these analyses indicated that there were significant differences among all species in dendritic measures.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Quantitative Neuromorphology, Psychology, Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Bob
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Quantitative Neuromorphology, Psychology, Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Quantitative Neuromorphology, Psychology, Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Devin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wahl
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Quantitative Neuromorphology, Psychology, Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schall
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Busisiwe C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Maseko
authors.affiliation: Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lewandowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Kent State University Kent, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Mary A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Raghanti
authors.affiliation: Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wicinski
authors.affiliation: Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Camilla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Butti
authors.affiliation: Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: William D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Hopkins
authors.affiliation: Center for Zoo and Wild Animal Health, Copenhagen Zoo Frederiksberg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mads F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Bertelsen
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian National Zoological Park Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian National Zoological Park Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiological Sciences, University of Florida Gainesville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Roger L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Reep
authors.affiliation: Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Hof
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Chet C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Sherwood
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Manger
keywords: Golgi method; brain evolution; cerebellum; dendrite; morphometry