Regional and laminar organization of the entorhinal cortex in tree shrews based on cytoarchitecture, chemoarchitecture, and connectivity
4 affiliations
- 1State Key Laboratory of Genetic Evolution & Animal Models, and Key Laboratory of Animal Models & Human Disease Mechanisms of Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650201, China
- 2Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650204, China
- 3National Resource Center for Non-Human Primates, Kunming Primate Research Center, and National Research Facility for Phenotypic & Genetic Analysis of Model Animals (Primate Facility), Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan 650107, China
- 4Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience, NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim 7491, Norway
Abstract
The entorhinal cortex (EC) is a pivotal interface that integrates multimodal cortical and subcortical information into the hippocampal formation and distributes hippocampal output to widespread telencephalic targets. It is also one of the earliest and most severely affected regions in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) has emerged as a promising model for AD research. However, the uncharted organization of tree shrew EC has limited its application in modeling early stages of AD. In this study, we provide a comprehensive anatomical reference for the tree shrew EC by delineating its boundaries, parcellating its medial and lateral subregions, and mapping its laminar connectivity based on cyto- and chemoarchitecture combined with tracing experiments. We found that the tree shrew EC exhibits an intermediate architecture between rodents and monkeys, mirroring its phylogenetic position and potentially links to the gradual evolution of place codes from rodents to primates. This study provides the first detailed entorhinal atlas of this species, establishing a critical foundation for future neural-tracing and electrophysiological investigations. It enhances the utility of the tree shrew in mechanistic studies of spatial coding and conscious memory, as well as a naturalistic model for incipient AD.
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BibTeX
@article{ye2026regional,
title = {{Regional and laminar organization of the entorhinal cortex in tree shrews based on cytoarchitecture, chemoarchitecture, and connectivity}},
author = {Yi-Fan Ye and Chu Deng and Xiao-Fan Ge and Rong Zhang and Jia-Li Long and Jia-Xue Jia and Hao-Yun Ye and Cheng-Ji Li and Xing Cai and Menno P. Witter and Li Lu},
journal = {Zoological Research},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2025.618},
url = {https://doi.org/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2025.618},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Regional and laminar organization of the entorhinal cortex in tree shrews based on cytoarchitecture, chemoarchitecture, and connectivity
AU - Yi-Fan Ye
AU - Chu Deng
AU - Xiao-Fan Ge
AU - Rong Zhang
AU - Jia-Li Long
AU - Jia-Xue Jia
AU - Hao-Yun Ye
AU - Cheng-Ji Li
AU - Xing Cai
AU - Menno P. Witter
AU - Li Lu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/18
JO - Zoological Research
DO - 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2025.618
UR - https://doi.org/10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2025.618
AB - The entorhinal cortex (EC) is a pivotal interface that integrates multimodal cortical and subcortical information into the hippocampal formation and distributes hippocampal output to widespread telencephalic targets. It is also one of the earliest and most severely affected regions in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) has emerged as a promising model for AD research. However, the uncharted organization of tree shrew EC has limited its application in modeling early stages of AD. In this study, we provide a comprehensive anatomical reference for the tree shrew EC by delineating its boundaries, parcellating its medial and lateral subregions, and mapping its laminar connectivity based on cyto- and chemoarchitecture combined with tracing experiments. We found that the tree shrew EC exhibits an intermediate architecture between rodents and monkeys, mirroring its phylogenetic position and potentially links to the gradual evolution of place codes from rodents to primates. This study provides the first detailed entorhinal atlas of this species, establishing a critical foundation for future neural-tracing and electrophysiological investigations. It enhances the utility of the tree shrew in mechanistic studies of spatial coding and conscious memory, as well as a naturalistic model for incipient AD.
SN - 2095-8137
ER -