Kavli Affiliate: Terrence Sejnowski
| Authors: Antonio Pinto-Duarte, Katherine Bogue, Terrence J Sejnowski and Shyam Srinivasan
| Summary:
Abstract The neocortex and paleocortex process sensory information and take part in higher cognitive tasks such as decision-making. The environment of the circuits within these regions is largely controlled by glial cells. Studies have shown that, across species, the density of glial cells (number of glial cells per mm3) is the same in the sensory circuits of the neocortex. To test if conserved density might be a principle of glial organization, we examined the paleocortex, which differs from the neocortex in its architecture and computations. We quantified the number of glial cells in the anterior piriform cortex, a paleocortical circuit subserving olfaction, across six mammalian species, using stereology and light microscopy. We found that, like the neocortex, the glial density was constant across species, albeit higher than the neocortex. In conclusion, our findings show a common principle of glial organization, wherein glial densities are the same across species in the neocortex and the paleocortex, though with differing densities between the two regions, likely reflecting local computational demands. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.