16 
Northcutt 
Figure 2. Transverse sections through rostral (A) to caudal (C) levels of the right telencephalic hemisphere 
of the tokay gecko, Gekko gecko, stained to demonstrate neuron cell bodies. Bar scale represents 1 mm. A-D, 
sensory zones of the anterior dorsal ventricular ridge; cd (Cl-3), dorsal cortex and its subdivisions; cl, 
lateral cortex; cm (Cl-2), medial cortex and its dorsal (Cl) and ventral (C2) subdivisions; cn, central or 
core nucleus of dorsal ventricular ridge; dvr,p, posterior dorsal ventricular ridge; Ifb, lateral forebrain 
bundle; rm, nucleus accumbens; ndb, nucleus of the diagonal band of Broca; ns, nucleus sphericus; ot, 
olfactory tubercle; s, septal nuclei; sp, superficial or peripheral cellular plate of dorsal ventricular ridge; 
st, striatum; vm, nucleus ventromedialis. 
tion pattern is strikingly similar to the 
hippocampo-septal projection in mammals. 
Added to this similarity are the topographi- 
cal position of medial cortex and its histo- 
chemistry (Baker-Cohen, 1969; Kusunoki, 
1971) which strongly suggest that the 
medial cortex of lizards is homologous to at 
least part of the hippocampal complex of 
mammals. 
The only report of ascending projections 
to the medial cortex in lizards is that of 
Butler and Ebner (1972). They reported 
fibers from the lateral forebrain bundle 
coursing over the caudal pole of the tel- 
encephalon and terminating in the outer 
layer of the medial cortex. Their lesions 
were quite large, and the exact origin of the 
pathway or pathways was not determined. 
Parent (1973a) has reported monoamine 
nerve endings in the outer layer of the 
