| Popis: |
We carried out a comparative morphometric analysis of neurons in the cat dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) in frontal vs. sagittal slices. Using the SMI-32 antibody to non-phosphorylated domains of heavy-chain neurofilaments, the postnatal dynamic of soma parameters (area, roundness, orientation) of dLGN neurons was studied. Measurements were performed in kittens aged 0, 4, 10, 14, 21, 28, 34, 62, 123 days, and in adult cats. A comparison of data obtained in frontal vs. sagittal slices revealed the following significant differences: 1) the soma area of the immunopositive neurons was smaller in frontal vs. sagittal slices in all age groups, and this difference increased with age; 2) the soma orientation was also different in two cutting planes, and a significant age-related change in the soma orientation occurred only in the sagittal, but not frontal, plane. We assume that the difference in the soma area is due to the spatial arrangement of SMI-32-immunopositive neurons in the dLGN, because of which, in the sagittal plane, in contrast to the frontal, neuronal somas were cut parallel to their long axis. In turn, age-related changes in the soma orientation may reflect an internal rearrangement of the dLGN retinotopic organization with age. |
