Macroscale cortical organization and a default-like apex transmodal network in the marmoset monkey

Nat Commun. 2019 Apr 29;10(1):1976. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-09812-8.

Abstract

Networks of widely distributed regions populate human association cortex. One network, often called the default network, is positioned at the apex of a gradient of sequential networks that radiate outward from primary cortex. Here, extensive anatomical data made available through the Marmoset Brain Architecture Project are explored to show a homologue exists in marmoset. Results reveal that a gradient of networks extend outward from primary cortex to progressively higher-order transmodal association cortex in both frontal and temporal cortex. The apex transmodal network comprises frontopolar and rostral temporal association cortex, parahippocampal areas TH / TF, the ventral posterior midline, and lateral parietal association cortex. The positioning of this network in the gradient and its composition of areas make it a candidate homologue to the human default network. That the marmoset, a physiologically- and genetically-accessible primate, might possess a default-network-like candidate creates opportunities for study of higher cognitive and social functions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brain / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain Mapping
  • Callithrix
  • Cerebral Cortex / diagnostic imaging*
  • Cognition
  • Frontal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Neurosciences
  • Parietal Lobe / diagnostic imaging*
  • Temporal Lobe / diagnostic imaging*