4.4.2. Pyramidal Neurons
PyrNs within bilateral organisms are studied in reptiles, fish, birds, and mammals (
Figure 2) [
104]. PyrNs gain their name due to the easily recognizable geometrical shape of the soma. PyrNs soma shape is sharply distinct from other neuronal (Purkinje and granular cells) and non-neuronal (
microglia, astrocytes, epithelial, or red blood cell) cell types. Based on this fact, it is reasonable to assume that the specificity of PyrNs functions accounts for this difference. The term PyrNs refers to all major classes of excitatory multipolar glutamatergic cell types sharing common (pyramidal-like) soma shape despite the different degree of deviation from the perfect geometrical form [
105]. Even in the publications explicitly devoted to cell-kind-dependent chirality and cell morphology [
100,
105,
106], the shape of PyrNs soma is out of discussion. In the most detailed description of the PyrNs’ soma shape, it is usually characterized as a “teardrop or rounded pyramid” [
107], extremely elongated rod-shaped” [
108], and most frequently pyramid-shaped [
109]. The base geometry of the pyramid (triangular or square) is never experimentally expored or theoretically predicted. One of the best experimental images of PyrNs shows the pyramidal shape of soma (
Figure 3B.) [
110]. However, confirmation of the tetrahedral geometry requires additional goal-oriented efforts. In such a situation, it is relevant to say that PyrNs soma has relative similarity with the pyramid’s geometry in general or tetrahedron, in particular. There are many arguments that the genetic chirality-centric architecture of the structural left-right asymmetry of the bilateral human brain is evolutionarily preserved for the optimum function of sensory perception of the spatial environment [
111]. However, the tetrahedral shape of PyrNs may be induced by evolutionary tendency secondary to the sensory perception of the spatial environment. At the cellular level, space-time perception occurs through the activity of PyrNs in close collaboration with other cell types and first with the astrocytes. Astrocytes are gatekeepers for maintaining PyrN excitability by glutamate biosynthesis, uptake, and release [
112,
113], synthesis of lactate (taken by neurons for energy production [
114]), and as the primary source of D-Ser [
115]. The disruption of astrocyte functions triggers cross-talk of many neurodegenerative pathways sharing a common feature – prevalent molecular chirality, which is vulnerable to spontaneous racemization. The primary functions of PyrNs includes the evaluation of the distance, direction, and left-right discrimination of movement. In agreement with this view, the spatial arrangement of the PyrNs firing was found to be affected by environmental geometry [
116]. Notable, that the aging-related cognitive deficits are attributable to reduced activity of PyrNs [
117]. Left–Right discrimination of brain functions is well represented in the behavioral study [
117,
118]. This knowledge is supported by new results, showing brain asymmetry at the molecular and cellular levels, but additional studies are required. PyrNs are the primary excitatory multipolar cell type abundant in the brain cortex [
117], hippocampus [
119,
120], and amygdala [
121]. The heterogeneity of the PyrN family is defined by their distinct axonal projections, dendritic arborization, and types of receptors. But how the neuronal soma develops its pyramidal morphology, which directs the proper neurite orientation, was poorly understood for a long time. Examination of all traditional graphical representations of the PyrNs community suggests that most (if not all) studies assume coherent orientation of soma in the plane orthogonal to apical dendrites axis [
122]. However, such an assumption requires experimental verification.
The cortical circuit network predominantly comprises pyramidal-to-pyramidal neuron connections, yet their assembly during embryonic development has yet to be entirely understood. PyrNs of cortex are distributed in the sensory, motor, association, and executive areas and found in all cortical layers except layer I [
9,
123,
124]. Each PyrN receives input from thousands of excitatory synapses segregated onto dendritic branches. It has been previously proposed that sophisticated neuronal circuits associated with non-linear properties of dendrites enable cortical neurons to recognize multiple insequence patterns and robust sequence memory [
125]. Dysfunctional PyrN circuitry has been associated with perception, cognition, and psychological conditions abnormalities. Glutamatergic signaling of PyrN occurs through neurotransmitters AAs L-glutamate (L-Glu) [
126] and D-Ser [
127] in close interaction with the complex of catecholaminergic systems {with corresponding neurotransmitters: L-dopamine, L-norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and L-epinephrine (adrenaline)} [
128]. Despite the involved of neuronal circuits of different natures, the most significant contribution to the morphological asymmetry of brain hemispheres and left-right differentiation of neural pathways is attributed to PyrN. The fact that PyrN are the most populated neuronal type in the human cerebral cortex and hippocampus suggests their primary role in processing space-time information utilized in sensory-motor
functions. PyrN signaling is necessary for normal development and essential functions of mature organisms [
129]. While the distortion of neuronal geometry and formation of aberrant synapses are associated with pathological conditions [
130], including impairment of visual perception [
131] and mental retardation [
132]. The bilateral cortex and hippocampus, containing the majority of PyrN, are studied in brain regions involved in a wide range of hemisphere-specific functions, including spatial coding, navigation, spatial memory, decision-making [
133,
134,
135], and intelligence [
136]. The evolutionary selected system for space-time information processing, including the morphology and spatial orientation of PyrN, is the fundamental feature underlying the function of CNS. Experimentally observed hemispheric asymmetry of synaptic morphology of PyrNs explains well-known functional laterality of human perceptual and cognitive functions [
137,
138,
139,
140,
141]. The morphology of PyrNs concerning the function was the focus of long-term attention in neuroscience. The major studied structural features were dendritic arborization, synaptic connectivity, and axonal network [
103,
139,
140,
142]. Apical and basal segments of the dendritic tree, complemented by the relative orientation of presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons, were carefully studied [
15,
23,
118,
142,
143,
144,
145,
146,
147,
148]. Two dendritic arbors have distinct morphology, orientation and are involved in different synaptic circuits [
118]. The dendritic orientation of PyrN is sublayer specific and exhibits dorsal-ven and front-back differentiation [
149]. The experimental parameters characterizing the cell body include soma size, spatial distributions, the density of soma, and pyramidal somatic integrative zones.
The shape and spatial orientation of pyramidal soma has little attention, partly due to the void of reliable experimental control. In bilateral organisms, beginning from C elegans, CNS contains PyrNs. During neurogenesis from the ventricular zone (VZ), before adopting pyramidal morphology, neurons pass through several intermediate stages (multipolar, bipolar) [
150,
151].
Presumably, many molecular correlates contribute to the pyramidal shape of soma, but all cell morphology alterations are supported/assisted by the molecular dynamics of homochiral enzyme-substrate complexes. A commonly accepted axiom is that molecular chirality drives cell chirality [
152]. Experimental evidence suggests that such a chirality transfer occurs with the participation of diverse cytoskeleton-based long-lived structures. Indeed, it was shown that the interaction of the diverse family of cytoskeleton filaments (septin [
153], actin [
154,
155], microtubules [
156,
157], and that neurofilaments (NF) [
158] provides fundamental cell morphogenetic mechanisms, including the shape and spatial orientation of PyrNs soma [
155]. It was shown that NF (and another intermediate filament proteins) contain in their in their N-terminal domains the motifs that bind unassembled tubulin. Peptides containing such motifs inhibit microtubules’ in vitro polymerization leading to altered cell shapes [
159]. This fact suggests that NF-microtubules interaction can contribute to the shape of PyrN soma. The prominent candidate for attention is actin cytoskeleton. Actin filament network is involved in vital neuronal processes associated with various memory functions in different organisms, from invertebrates to mammals. The cellular processes, mediated by its activity, include cellular motility, division, intracellular transport, synaptic plasticity, and morphogenesis [
160]. Actin and actin-binding proteins (α-actinin and synaptopodin) are present in the typical cisternal organelle of an axon initial segment (AIS) in subpopulation pyramidal neurons [
161]. In agreement with our generalized function-based hypothesis, the recent publication shows that developing a pyramidally shaped soma is linked to septin functions [
162]. So, molecular mechanisms involved in the neurogenesis and the development of pyramidal neurons soma are on the way to being clarified in detail.
The homochirality of actin-myosin cytoskeletons allows the cells to develop polarity and left-right asymmetry [
152]. However, the bidirectional impact of prevalent molecular chirality (internal determinant) and bilaterality of CNS (window to the external epigenetic factors) on the pyramidality of PyrNs soma has never been considered. Notable that dendritic arborization exhibits cortical layer-dependent orientation preference towards the anterior orientation [
146]. However, the spatial orientation of pyramidal soma in two brain hemispheres and their relation to space-time information processing have yet to be experimentally studied or theoretically discussed. Based on the lateralization of perceptual and cognitive functions, we can expect differential bilateral asymmetry in the morphology and orientation of PyrN. Indeed, currently, the hemispheric difference is experimentally observed in the number/volume [
163] and synaptic organization [
164]. Asymmetric hemispheric allocation of NMDA receptor subunits in hippocampal PyrN complements the whole picture [
118,
120]. The fact that PyrNs of the healthy human brain have a significantly greater density, larger size, and are more spherical in shape on the left- than on the right-side point to the meaningful link between two kinds of biological events [
165]. Notable that bilateral asymmetry of brain activity indicates a state of the CNS system concerning mood and anxiety. For example, studies of brain EEG associated with PyrNs firing suggest that high levels of beta in the right hemisphere are associated with anxiety symptoms. In contrast, high levels of alpha in the left hemisphere indicates depressive features [
166,
167]. Studying PyrNs functions in biological information processing is necessary for designing A) strategy [
104,
168].