TY - DATA T1 - Supplementary Material for: Architectural Organization of the African Elephant Diencephalon and Brainstem PY - 2017/03/14 AU - Maseko B.C. AU - Patzke N. AU - Fuxe K. AU - Manger P.R. UR - https://karger.figshare.com/articles/figure/Supplementary_Material_for_Architectural_Organization_of_the_African_Elephant_Diencephalon_and_Brainstem/4750816 DO - 10.6084/m9.figshare.4750816.v1 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790614 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790617 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790620 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790623 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790626 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790629 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790632 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790635 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790638 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790641 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790644 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790647 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790650 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790653 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790656 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790659 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790662 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790665 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790668 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790671 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790674 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790677 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790680 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790683 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790686 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790689 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790692 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790695 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790698 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790701 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790707 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790710 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790713 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790716 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790719 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790722 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790725 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790728 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790731 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790734 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790737 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790743 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790746 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790749 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790752 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790755 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790758 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790761 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790764 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790767 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/7790770 KW - Elephant KW - Dorsal thalamus KW - Epithalamus KW - Hypothalamus KW - Midbrain KW - Pons KW - Medulla oblongata KW - Proboscidae KW - Brain evolution KW - Mammalia N2 - The current study examined the organization of the diencephalon and brainstem of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) - a region of the elephant brain that has not been examined for at least 50 years. The current description, employing material amenable for use with modern neuroanatomical methods, shows that, for the most part, the elephant diencephalon and brainstem are what could be considered typically mammalian, with subtle differences in proportions and topology. The variations from these previous descriptions, where they occurred, were related to four specific aspects of neural information processing: (1) the motor systems, (2) the auditory and vocalization systems, (3) the orexinergic satiety/wakefulness centre of the hypothalamus and the locus coeruleus, and (4) the potential neurogenic lining of the brainstem. For the motor systems, three specific structures exhibited interesting differences in organization - the pars compacta of the substantia nigra, the facial motor nerve nucleus, and the inferior olivary nuclear complex, all related to the timing and learning of movements and likely related to the control of the trunk. The dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra appear to form distinct islands separated from each other by large fibre pathways, an appearance unique to the elephant. Each island may send topologically organized projections to the striatum forming a dopaminergic innervation mosaic that may relate to trunk movements. At least five regions of the combined vocalization production and auditory/seismic reception system were specialized, including the large and distinct nucleus ellipticus of the periaqueductal grey matter, the enlarged lateral superior olivary nucleus, the novel transverse infrageniculate nucleus of the dorsal thalamus, the enlarged dorsal column nuclei and the ventral posterior inferior nucleus of the dorsal thalamus. These specializations, related to production and reception of infrasound, allow the proposal of a novel concept regarding the reception and localization of infrasonic sources. The orexinergic system of the hypothalamus displayed a medial hypothalamic parvocellular cluster of neurons in addition to the magnocellular clusters typical of mammals located in the lateral hypothalamus, and a novel medial division of the locus coeruleus was observed in the pons. These systems are related to appetitive drive and promotion of wakefulness, two aspects of elephant behaviour that appear to be inextricably linked. Lastly, we observed an extensive potential neurogenic lining of the ventricles throughout the brainstem that is present in even quite old elephants, although the function of these cells remains elusive. These observations combined demonstrate that, while much of the elephant brainstem is typically mammalian, certain aspects of the anatomy related to specialized behaviour of elephants are present and instructive in understanding elephant behaviour. ER -