Abstract
How is sensory information processed in nonmammalian vertebrates? Is the mechanism of information processing similar to that in mammalian brains? In the nonmammalian telencephalon (birds and reptiles in particular), there are neuronal populations corresponding to cell groups in the neocortex of mammals in terms of connections, single unit-responses, and functions. Some areas of these populations in sauropsids (reptiles and birds), however, are arranged in a nonlaminar, rather than laminar fashion. The major nonlaminar multinucleate area, the dorsal ventricular ridge (DVR), is an intraventricular protrusion of cells within the core of the cerebral hemispheres. Comparative studies of visual representation with the DVR of birds and mammalian neocortex has emphasized the need for a reassessment of the functional roles of lamination of the mammalian neocortex. Thus, for example, complex visual and cognitive performance can be accomplished by neural circuits in the DVR of sauropsids equivalent to those of the neocortex but without laminar organization. If the same computational strategies in the DVR are employed in the mammalian forebrain, what is the functional significance of lamination in the neocortex? The role of neural circuits and laminar organization can be and should be differentiated in order to understand computational strategies in the neocortex.
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Shimizu, T., Karten, H.J. (1991). Computational Significance of Lamination of the Telencephalon. In: Arbib, M.A., Ewert, JP. (eds) Visual Structures and Integrated Functions. Research Notes in Neural Computing, vol 3. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84545-1_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-84545-1_21
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