Cyto- and receptor architecture of cortical areas

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre 

Drawing on studies of the human and macaque cortex, I will discuss how the analysis of receptor distribution patterns serves to link structural and functional segregation patterns of the brain. Simultaneous examination of the distribution of cell bodies and multiple receptor types in the human and macaque brain has shown that changes in receptor density are indicative of boundaries between areas, and that changes in receptor architecture occur at positions comparable to those of cytoarchitectonic borders. What makes this multimodal approach particularly powerful is that not all receptors delineate every possible cytoarchitectonic boundary. Thus, each neurotransmitter receptor reveals larger or smaller 'families' of cytoarchitectonically distinct but neurochemically related areas. Importantly, similarities between areas in their specific co-distribution patterns of multiple receptors, i.e., their receptor fingerprint, constitute the molecular basis for communication between these areas. It is these similarities that give brain areas the ability to form a network that supports a specific functional system. Furthermore, receptor fingerprints also reveal hierarchical processing levels and segregate cortical types. Thus, receptor fingerprints enable the analysis of both the structural segregation of the brain and its functional connectivity principles.