Comparison of brain structure volumes in Insectivora and primates. VI. Paleocortical components.

Volumes of the main structures of the 'paleocortical complex' were measured in 2 species of Macroscelidea, 39 species of Insectivora, 3 species of Scandentia, 18 species of prosimians, 26 species of nonhuman simians and man. Changes in the relative size from Insectivora through man (expressed by size indices) showed a definite tendency to decrease in the lateral olfactory tract (TRL), its nucleus (NTO), and in the olfactory cortices (RB, PRPI, TOL) and to increase in the anterior commissure (COA) and substantia innominata (SIN). The reduction in the olfactory cortices is strongest for the retrobulbar region (RB, = anterior olfactory nucleus in Anglo-American terminology), and least for the olfactory tubercle (TOL). In prosimians, the reduction clearly parallels that of the main olfactory bulb (BOL); in simians and especially in man, the indices of PRPI and TOL are clearly larger than those of BOL. Possible reasons for these growing deviations were discussed: (1) increasing difficulties in clearly homologizing and delineating the olfactory cortices in the microsmatic simians, and (2) non-olfactory functional influences.