Ferret as a model system for studying the anatomy and function of the prefrontal cortex: A systematic review

Grace Ross; Susanne Radtke-Schuller; Flavio Frohlich

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105701

Ferret as a model system for studying the anatomy and function of the prefrontal cortex: A systematic review

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2024 May 6:162:105701. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105701. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Grace Ross¹, Susanne Radtke-Schuller², Flavio Frohlich³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
² Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. Electronic address: flavio_frohlich@med.unc.edu.

PMID: 38718987
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105701

Abstract

There is a lack of consensus on anatomical nomenclature, standards of documentation, and functional equivalence of the frontal cortex between species. There remains a major gap between human prefrontal function and interpretation of findings in the mouse brain that appears to lack several key prefrontal areas involved in cognition and psychiatric illnesses. The ferret is an emerging model organism that has gained traction as an intermediate model species for the study of top-down cognitive control and other higher-order brain functions. However, this research has yet to benefit from synthesis. Here, we provide a summary of all published research pertaining to the frontal and/or prefrontal cortex of the ferret across research scales. The targeted location within the ferret brain is summarized visually for each experiment, and the anatomical terminology used at time of publishing is compared to what would be the appropriate term to use presently. By doing so, we hope to improve clarity in the interpretation of both previous and future publications on the comparative study of frontal cortex.

Keywords: Ferret; Frontal cortex; Inter-species comparative neuroanatomy; Neural circuits; Neuroanatomy; Prefrontal cortex.

Publication types

Review