Evolution of GABAergic circuitry in the mammalian medial geniculate body

摘要

Many features in the mammalian sensory thalamus, such as the types of neurons, their connections, or their neurotransmitters, are conserved in evolution. We found a wide range in the proportion of γ-aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) neurons in the medial geniculate body, from <1/100 (bat and rat) to 25/100 or more (cat and monkey). In the bat, some medial geniculate body subdivisions have no GABAergic cells. Species-specific variation also occurs in the somesthetic ventrobasal complex.