SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE N623 - Week 1
Introduction: The Neural Basis of Cognition and the Neocortex

Nobel of the Week - September 6

Brief biographies of Ramon y Cajal and Camillo Golgi
(Pay particular attention to the controversy surrounding the Neuron Doctrine).
  • Life and Discoveries of Santiago Ramon y Cajal, from NobelPrize.Org (Cajal's Nobel Lecture)
  • S. Ramon y Cajal, R.G. Harrison, and the Beginnings of Neuroembryology, Viktor Hamburger (1980), in Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 23: 600-616.
  • Life and Discoveries of Camillo Golgi, from NobelPrize.Org (Golgi's Nobel Lecture)

    Introductory Readings for discussion on September 6.

  • Kandel, Schwartz, Jessell, Siegelbaum and Huspeth, 5th ed. Chapters 1, 15-21, or...
  • Kandel, Schwartz, Jessell, 4th ed. Chapters 1, 17-21.

    Readings for discussion on September 11.

  • Brodmann's Localisation in the Cerebral Cortex
  • Kaas, JH (1987) The Organization of Neocortex in Mammals: Implications for Theories of Brain Function. Ann Rev Psych 38: 129-151.
  • Kaas, JH (1997) Topographic maps are fundamental to sensory processing. Brain Res Bull, 44(2), 107-112.
  • Karten, HJ (1997) Evolutionary developmental biology meets the brain: The origins of mammalian cortex. PNAS 94: 2800-2804.
  • Sur, M, Garraghty, P and Roe, AW (1988) Experimentally induced visual projections into auditory thalamus and cortex. Science 242: 1437-1441.

    Additional Optional Readings.

  • Sharma, J., Angelucci, A. and Sur, M. (2000) Induction of visual orientation modules in auditory cortex. Nature 404:841-847.
  • Kaas, JH (1995) The evolution of isocortex. Brain Behav Evol, 46(4-5), 187-96.
  • Sincich LC, Adams DL, Horton JC. (2003) Complete flatmounting of the macaque cerebral cortex. Vis Neurosci 20: 663-86.
  • Clark, DA, Mitra, PP and Wang, SSH (2001) Scalable architecture in mammalian brains, Nature 411: 189-193. (Commentary by Kaas and Collins)
  • Kaas, JH (2002) How do features of sensory representations develop ? BioEssays 24: 334-343.
  • Aboitiz, F, Montiel, J and Lopez, J (2002) Critical steps in the early evolution of the isocortex. Insights from developmental biology Braz J Med Biol Res, 35(12) 1455-1472.
  • Life and Discoveries of Sir John Eccles, from NobelPrize.Org (Eccles' Nobel Lecture)
  • Jones, EG, History of cortical cytology (1984) in Cerebral Cortex, eds. Jones EG, Peters, A, 1:1-32.
  • Eccles, JC, The Cerebral Neocortex: A theory of its operation (1984) in Cerebral Cortex, eds. Jones EG, Peters, A, 2:1-36 (skim over).

    A few words about the Cerebral Cortex (from Wikipedia...)

    Based on the differencies in lamination the cerebral cortex can be classified into two major groups:
    * Isocortex (homotypical cortex), the part of the cortex with six layers.
    * Allocortex (heterotypical cortex) with variable number of layers, e.g., olfactory cortex and hippocampus.

    Auxiliary classes are:
    * Mesocortex, classification between isocortex and allocortex where layers 2, 3 and 4 are merged.
    * Proisocortex, Brodmann areas 24, 25, 32.
    * Periallocortex is cortical areas adjacent to allocortex.

    Based on supposed developmental differencies the following classification also appears:
    * Neocortex that corresponds to isocortex.
    * Archicortex
    * Paleocortex

    In addition, cortex may be classified on the basis of gross topographical conventions into the following:
    * Temporal Cortex
    * Parietal Cortex
    * Frontal Cortex
    * Occipital Cortex
    * Limbic Cortex
    * Insular Cortex

     

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