Christine E. Collins
Research Assistant Professor of Psychology
Collins' research interests include the functional organization of sensory and motor systems in primates and other mammals and the neural mechanisms of plasticity and recovery of function following injury. Current work examines the distribution of cells and neurons across the cortical expanse in relation to cortical areas in non-human primate brains and in human brains. Flow cytometry-based cell quantification methods are used to construct high resolution whole cortex cell and neuron density maps. Cell density maps of the cortex published to date suggest a common plan of cell and neuron number and distribution in the cortex of primates, but additional studies need to be conducted to confirm whether the pattern is conserved in hominids, including humans. Data from multiple branches within the primate order provide insight into the evolution of the cortical neural network for sensory and motor processing and allow us to identify features that may be unique to particular groups of primates, or features that are conserved across branches within the primate order and may be more likely to be present in humans. These kinds of measures are critical to our understanding of the cellular basis of normal information processing in the cerebral cortex and how processing networks break down with normal aging, neurodegenerative or neuropsychiatric disease.
Representative Publications
- Young NA, Flaherty DK, Airey DC, Aworunse F, Varlan PA, Kaas JH, Collins CE. Use of flow cytometry for high-throughput cell population estimates in fixed brain tissue. Front Neuroanat 2012, 6:27, Epub 2012 Jul 11.
- Collins CE, Leitch DB, Wong P, Kaas JH, Herculano-Houzel S. Faster scaling of visual neurons in cortical areas relative to subcortical structures in non-human primate brains. Brain Struct Function 2012 Jun 9. [Epub ahead of print]
- Collins CE. Variability in neuron densities across the cortical sheet in primates. For a special issue of Brain Behav Evol for members of the 22nd Annual Karger Workshop, 2011, 78:37-50.
- Campi KL, Collins CE, Todd WD, Kaas JH, Krubitzer LA. Comparison of area 17 cellular composition in laboratory and wild-caught rats including diurnal and nocturnal species. Brain Behav Evol, 2011, 77:116-30.
- Collins CE, Airey DC, Young NA, Leitch DB, Kaas JH. Neuron densities vary across and within cortical areas in primates. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A., 2010b, 107:15927-15932.
- Gabi M, Collins CE, Wong P, Torres LB, Kaas JH, Herculano-Houzel S. Cellular scaling rules for an extended number of primate species. Brain Behav Evol, 2010, 76:32-44.
- Collins CE, Young NA, Flaherty DK, Airey DC, Kaas JH. A rapid and reliable method of counting neurons and other cells in brain tissue: a comparison of flow cytometry and manual counting methods. Front Neuroanat. 2010a Feb 9;4:5. PMID: 20300202
- Qi HX, Jain N, Collins CE, Lyon DC, Kaas JH. Functional organization of motor cortex of adult macaque monkeys is altered by sensory loss in infancy.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Feb 16;107(7):3192-7. Epub 2010 Jan 27.PMID: 20133738
- Wong P, Collins CE, Baldwin MK, Kaas JH. Cortical connections of the visual pulvinar complex in prosimian galagos (Otolemur garnetti). J Comp Neurol. 2009 Dec 1;517(4):493-511. PMID: 19795374
- Jain N, Qi HX, Collins CE, Kaas JH. Large-scale reorganization in the somatosensory cortex and thalamus after sensory loss in macaque monkeys. J Neurosci. 2008 Oct 22;28(43):11042-60.
- Herculano-Houzel S, Collins CE, Wong P, Kaas JH, Lent R. The basic nonuniformity of the cerebral cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Aug 26;105(34):12593-8. Epub 2008 Aug 8. PMID: 18689685
- Herculano-Houzel S, Collins CE, Wong P, Kaas JH. Cellular scaling rules for primate brains. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Feb 27;104(9):3562-7. Epub 2007 Feb 20. PMID: 17360682
- Xu X, Collins CE, Khaytin I, Kaas JH, Casagrande VA. Unequal representation of cardinal vs. oblique orientations in the middle temporal visual area. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Nov 14;103(46):17490-5. Epub 2006 Nov 6. PMID: 17088527
- Airey DC, Wu F, Guan M, Collins CE. Geometric morphometrics defines shape differences in the cortical area map of C57BL/6J and DBA/2J inbred mice. BMC Neurosci. 2006 Sep 15;7:63. PMID: 16978410
- Collins CE, Hendrickson A, Kaas JH.Overview of the visual system of Tarsius. Anat Rec A Discov Mol Cell Evol Biol. 2005 Nov;287(1):1013-25. PMID: 16200648
- Collins CE, Lyon DC, Kaas JH. Distribution across cortical areas of neurons projecting to the superior colliculus in new world monkeys. Anat Rec A Discov Mol Cell Evol Biol. 2005 Jul;285(1):619-27. PMID: 15912524
- Collins CE, Xu X, Khaytin I, Kaskan PM, Casagrande VA, Kaas JH. Optical imaging of visually evoked responses in the middle temporal area after deactivation of primary visual cortex in adult primates. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Apr 12;102(15):5594-9. Epub 2005 Apr 4. PMID: 15809438
- Airey DC, Robbins AI, Enzinger KM, Wu F, Collins CE. Variation in the cortical area map of C57BL/6J and DBA/2J inbred mice predicts strain identity. BMC Neurosci. 2005 Mar 17;6:18. PMID: 15774010
- Stepniewska I, Collins CE, Kaas JH. Reappraisal of DL/V4 boundaries based on connectivity patterns of dorsolateral visual cortex in macaques. Cereb Cortex. 2005 Jun;15(6):809-22. Epub 2004 Sep 30. PMID: 15459077
- Coq JO, Qi H, Collins CE, Kaas JH. Anatomical and functional organization of somatosensory areas of the lateral fissure of the New World titi monkey (Callicebus moloch). J Comp Neurol. 2004 Aug 30;476(4):363-87. PMID: 15282711
- Xu X, Collins CE, Kaskan PM, Khaytin I, Kaas JH, Casagrande VA. Optical imaging of visually evoked responses in prosimian primates reveals conserved features of the middle temporal visual area. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004 Feb 24;101(8):2566-71. PMID: 14983049
- Kaas JH, Collins CE. Anatomic and functional reorganization of somatosensory cortex in mature primates after peripheral nerve and spinal cord injury. Adv Neurol. 2003;93:87-95. Review. No abstract available. PMID: 12894403 17.
- Kaas JH, Collins CE. The organization of somatosensory cortex in anthropoid primates. Adv Neurol. 2003;93:57-67. Review. No abstract available. PMID: 12894401
- Collins CE, Lyon DC, Kaas JH. Responses of neurons in the middle temporal visual area after long-standing lesions of the primary visual cortex in adult new world monkeys. J Neurosci. 2003 Mar 15;23(6):2251-64. PMID: 12657684
- Rothemund Y, Qi HX, Collins CE, Kaas JH. The genitals and gluteal skin are represented lateral to the foot in anterior parietal somatosensory cortex of macaques. Somatosens Mot Res. 2002;19(4):302-15.PMID: 12590832
- Kaas JH, Collins CE. The organization of sensory cortex. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2001 Aug;11(4):498-504. Review. PMID: 11502398
- Kaas JH, Collins CE. Evolving ideas of brain evolution. Nature. 2001 May 10;411(6834):141-2. No abstract available. PMID: 11346770
- Collins CE, Stepniewska I, Kaas JH. Topographic patterns of V2 cortical connections in a prosimian primate (Galago garnetti). J Comp Neurol. 2001 Mar 5;431(2):155-67. PMID: 11169997
- Catania KC, Collins CE, Kaas JH. Organization of sensory cortex in the East African hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris). J Comp Neurol. 2000 May 29;421(2):256-74. PMID: 10813786
- Wallhausser-Franke E, Collins CE, DeVoogd TJ. Developmental changes in the distribution of NADPH-diaphorase-containing neurons in telencephalic nuclei of the zebra finch song system. J Comp Neurol. 1995 Jun 5;356(3):345-54. PMID: 7543909