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Cited by 423Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeural dynamics and brain functionMemory and Neural Mechanisms

Regional Dendritic and Spine Variation in Human Cerebral Cortex: a Quantitative Golgi Study

Jacobs, B.·2001·Cerebral Cortex
DOI 10.1093/cercor/11.6.558
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Abstract

The present study explored differences in dendritic/spine extent across several human cortical regions. Specifically, the basilar dendrites/spines of supragranular pyramidal cells were examined in eight Brodmann's areas (BA) arranged according to Benson's (1993, Behav Neurol 6:75-81) functional hierarchy: primary cortex (somatosensory, BA3-1-2; motor, BA4), unimodal cortex (Wernicke's area, BA22; Broca's area, BA44), heteromodal cortex (supple- mentary motor area, BA6beta; angular gyrus, BA39) and supramodal cortex (superior frontopolar zone, BA10; inferior frontopolar zone, BA11). To capture more general aspects of regional variability, primary and unimodal areas were designated as low integrative regions; heteromodal and supramodal areas were designated as high integrative regions. Tissue was obtained from the left hemisphere of 10 neurologically normal individuals (M(age) = 30 +/- 17 years; five males, five females) and stained with a modified rapid Golgi technique. Ten neurons were sampled from each cortical region (n = 800) and evaluated according to total dendritic length, mean segment length, dendritic segment count, dendritic spine number and dendritic spine density. Despite considerable inter-individual variation, there were significant differences across the eight Brodmann's areas and between the high and low integrative regions for all dendritic and spine measures. Dendritic systems in primary and unimodal regions were consistently less complex than in heteromodal and supramodal areas. The range within these rankings was substantial, with total dendritic length in BA10 being 31% greater than that in BA3-1-2, and dendritic spine number being 69% greater. These findings demonstrate that cortical regions involved in the early stages of processing (e.g. primary sensory areas) generally exhibit less complex dendritic/spine systems than those regions involved in the later stages of information processing (e.g. prefrontal cortex). This dendritic progression appears to reflect significant differences in the nature of cortical processing, with spine-dense neurons at hierarchically higher association levels integrating a broader range of synaptic input than those at lower cortical levels.

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Crossref · 10.1093/cercor/11.6.558

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  • The primary somatosensory cortex and primary motor cortex mature earlier, but the dendritic trees and density of spines within the subdomains of the PFC seem to be more complex.

    “The primary somatosensory cortex, as well as the primary motor cortex, mature earlier, however the dendritic trees and the density of spines within the subdomains of the PFC seem to be more complex [246–249].”

    From Development of prefrontal cortex (2022) · cites this paper as [246]

  • Pyramidal cells in different cortical regions have considerably distinct structures and the data obtained in one region cannot necessarily be applied to another.

    “Second, pyramidal cells in different cortical regions have considerably distinct structures (Elston et al., 2001; Jacobs et al., 2001) and the data obtained in one region cannot necessarily be applied to another.”

    From The influence of phospho-tau on dendritic spines of cortical pyramidal neurons in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (2013) · cites this paper as Jacobs et al., 2001

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Authors
Jacobs, B.
Affiliations
Colorado College (US)
Corresponding author
Jacobs, B.
ORCID
Jacobs, B.
Venue
Cerebral Cortex
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2001-06-01
Volume
11
Issue
6
Pages
558-571
ISSN
  • 1047-3211 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2199
DOI
10.1093/cercor/11.6.558
OpenAlex
W2165137514
Cited by
423
References
102
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 27 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 31 · 2015: 26 · 2014: 25 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 25
FWCI
4.05
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Cerebral Cortex (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Keywords
dendritic complexity, dendritic spines, dendritic spine density, human cerebral cortex, Brodmann areas, primary sensory cortex, prefrontal cortex, dendritic length, synaptic integration
MeSH terms
Adult, Age Factors, Cerebral Cortex, Dendrites, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Sex Factors, Silver Staining, Pyramidal Cells, Cell Size

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