Abstract
Neuronal cell densities in surgically removed left or right hippocampal tissue of epileptic patients suffering from temporal lobe epilepsy were determined in CA1, CA4, and the dentate gyrus (DG). Mean densities showed no statistically significant left-right asymmetry in CA1 and the DG, consistent with findings by others. Mean densities did show previously unreported asymmetry in CA4; densities were significantly lower in the right CA4 than in the left. Another new finding is an asymmetry in regional intercorrelations: positive and significant correlations among the three subfields were obtained only in the left hippocampus. In addition, we confirmed previous findings of positive correlation between neuronal densities in CA1 and age of onset of habitual epilepsy, on either side. Taken together, the results suggest subtle left-right asymmetries in the vulnerability of the hippocampi to epilepsy-associated damage and/or higher neuronal connectivity or interdependence on the left than on the right.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abercrombie M (1946) Estimation of nuclear population from microtome sections. Anat Rec 94:239–247
Amaral DG, Insausti R, Cowan WM (1984) The commissural connections of the monkey hippocampal formation. J Comp Neurol 224:307–336
Babb TL, Brown WJ, Pretorius J, Davenport C, Lieb JP, Crandall PH (1984) Temporal lobe volumetric cell densities in temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsia 25:729–740
Dam AM (1979) The density of neurons in the human hippocampus. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 5:249–264
Duvernoy HM (1988) The human hippocampus. Bergmann, München
Engle J Jr, Kuhl DE, Phelps ME, Crandall PH (1982) Comparative localization of epileptic foci in partial epilepsy by PCT and EEG. Ann Neurol 12:529–537
Glick SD (ed) (1985) Cerebral lateralization in nonhuman species. Academic Press, Orlando
Green JD, Petsche H (1961) Hippocampal electrical activity. IV. Abnormal electrical activity. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 13:868–879
Margerison JH, Corsellis JAN (1966) Epilepsy and the temporal lobe. Brain 89:499–530
Milner B (1958) Psychological defects produced by temporallobe excision. Res Publ Assoc Res Nerv Ment Dis 36:244–257
Milner B (1968) Visual recognition and recall after right temporal-lobe excision in man. Neuropsychologia 6:191–209
Oxbury JM, Adams CBT (1989) Neurosurgery for epilepsy. Br J Hosp Med 41:372–377
Rosene DL, Van Hoesen GW (1987) The hippocampal formation of the primate brain. In: Jones EG, Peters A (eds) Cerebral cortex, vol 6. Plenum Press, New York, pp 231–301
Sagar HJ, Oxbury JM (1987) Hippocampal neuron loss in temporal lobe epilepsy: correlation with early childhood convulsions. Ann Neurol 22:334–340
Sass KJ, Spencer DD, Kim JH, Westerveld M, Novelly RA, Lenz T (1990) Verbal memory impairment correlates with hippocampal pyramidal cell density. Neurology 40:1694–1697
Sass KJ, Lenez T, Westerveld M, Novelly RA, Spencer DD, Kim JH (1991) The neural substrate of memory impairment demonstrated by the intracarotid amobarbital procedure. Arch Neurol 48:48–52
Wilson CL, Isokawa-Akesson M, Babb TL, Engle JJ, Cahan LD, Crandall PH (1987) A comparative view of local and interhemispheric limbic pathways in humans: an evoked potential analysis. In: Engle J Jr (ed) Fundamental mechanisms of human brain function. Raven Press, New York, pp 27–38
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zaidel, D.W., Esiri, M.M. & Oxbury, J.M. Regional differentiation of cell densities in the left and right hippocampi of epileptic patients. J Neurol 240, 322–325 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00838172
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00838172