The ovine motor cortex: A review of functional mapping and cytoarchitecture

Sam E John; Timothy J H Lovell; Nicholas L Opie; Stefan Wilson; Theodore C Scordas; Yan T Wong; Gil S Rind; Stephen Ronayne; Sébastien H Bauquier; Clive N May; David B Grayden; Terence J O'Brien; Thomas J Oxley

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.06.002

The ovine motor cortex: A review of functional mapping and cytoarchitecture

Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017 Sep:80:306-315. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.06.002. Epub 2017 Jun 19.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ NeuroEngineering Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Vascular Bionics Laboratory, Department of Medicine, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address: sam.john@unimelb.edu.au.
² Vascular Bionics Laboratory, Department of Medicine, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
³ NeuroEngineering Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Vascular Bionics Laboratory, Department of Medicine, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia.
⁴ Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Australia; Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, Australia; Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Australia.
⁵ Vascular Bionics Laboratory, Department of Medicine, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia.
⁶ Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
⁷ Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia.
⁸ NeuroEngineering Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia; Centre for Neural Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.

PMID: 28595827
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.06.002

Abstract

In recent years, sheep (Ovis aries) have emerged as a useful animal model for neurological research due to their relatively large brain and blood vessel size, their cortical architecture, and their docile temperament. However, the functional anatomy of sheep brain is not as well studied as that of non-human primates, rodents, and felines. For example, while the location of the sheep motor cortex has been known for many years, there have been few studies of the somatotopy of the motor cortex and there were a range of discrepancies across them. The motivation for this review is to provide a definitive resource for studies of the sheep motor cortex. This work critically reviews the literature examining the organization of the motor cortex in sheep, utilizing studies that have applied direct electrical stimulation and histological methods A clearer understanding of the sheep brain will facilitate and progress the use of this species as a scientific animal model for neurological research.

Keywords: Central pattern generator; Direct electrical stimulation; Motor cortex; Ovine; Sheep; Superior frontal gyrus.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Animals
Brain Mapping
Motor Cortex / anatomy & histology*
Motor Cortex / diagnostic imaging
Motor Cortex / physiology*
Neurons / cytology
Neurons / physiology
Sheep / anatomy & histology*
Sheep / physiology*