Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 7, 1133-1144, Copyright © 1987 by Society for Neuroscience
Regional heterogeneity in the distribution of somatostatin-28- and somatostatin-28(1-12)-immunoreactive profiles in monkey neocortex
MJ Campbell, DA Lewis, R Benoit and JH Morrison
The distribution of the prosomatostatin-derived peptides (PSDP),
somatostatin-28 and somatostatin-28(1-12), in the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca
fascicularis) neocortex was characterized in quantitative
immunohistochemical studies of 3 visual areas (V1, primary visual cortex;
V2, the adjacent visual association area; and AIT, a visual association
area in anterior inferior temporal cortex), 2 auditory areas (AI, primary
auditory cortex; and T1, an adjacent auditory association area) and
anterior cingulate cortex (Area 24). The results of similar quantitative
analyses in 3 homologous areas in rat neocortex (primary visual, primary
auditory, and anterior cingulate) are also presented. Primate cortical
areas differed significantly in both density and laminar distribution of
PSDP-immunoreactive profiles. Area 24, the most densely labeled area, had
nearly 6 times as many PSDP- immunoreactive neurons as V1. Both auditory
areas contained approximately two-thirds the number of PSDP-immunoreactive
neurons found in Area 24; however, both had nearly 4 times as many
immunoreactive neurons as V1. The 3 visual areas showed incremental
increases in the number of PSDP-immunoreactive neurons; V2 contained nearly
twice and AIT nearly 3 times the number of immunoreactive neurons present
in V1. Both the supra- and infragranular layers were densely labeled in
Area 24 and Area T1, however, in AI, V1, V2, and AIT the infragranular
layers were relatively sparsely labeled. In contrast to the regional
heterogeneity found in the primate neocortex, the distribution of
immunoreactive neurons was quite uniform across the 3 rat cortical areas.
The rat cortical areas contained substantially fewer immunoreactive neurons
than most of the monkey cortical areas, and a majority of these
immunoreactive neurons were located in the infragranular layers. These
findings suggest that the regional specialization of primate neocortex
involves the selective distribution of PSDP-immunoreactive neurons. They
also suggest that chemically specified intrinsic organization of neocortex
is not likely to be uniform across species or across cortical areas in the
primate. The distinctive regional distribution patterns of
PSDP-immunoreactive profiles appear to parallel that of the long
corticocortical projections (contralateral and distant ipsilateral
projections), suggesting an association between these presumed inhibitory
interneurons and this important extrinsic system.