1. The tangential organization of layer I has been studied in frozen sections impregnated according to a modified Liesegang method and in Bodian impregnated paraffin sections cut tangentially to the dorsal surface of the rabbit's cerebral cortex. 2. It is shown that sublamina tangentialis of layer I contains a system of parallel nerve fibres forming a distinct pattern in the tangential plane. 3. This pattern has been reconstructed for a large region of the dorsal surface of the cerebral cortex including the striate areas as well as the peristriate, parietal and precentral agranular regions and parts of the retrosplenial area. 4. In most parts of the region investigated, the tangential fibres of layer I are oriented in an antero-medial to postero-lateral direction, forming an angle of about 50 degrees with the sagittal plane. 5. Deviations from this pattern are found in the furrows formed by the lateral sulcus and the frontal impression and also in the caudal part of the retrosplenial area. In these regions, which are characterized by comparatively steep changes of the cortical relief, the fibres course in a more sagittal direction.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

Postnatal growth of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat.

The postnatal growth of the dorsal part of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGNd) is studied in paraffin sections through the brains of 32 cats of known age. The changes in shape and position of the LGNd are described and it is shown that its volume increases from about 3.4 mm3 at birth to about 26.4 mm3 in the adult cat. When this value is corrected for shrinkage, the volume of the LGNd in the adult cat turns out to be about 44 mm3. The detailed measurements reveal that during the second and third week of postnatal life there is a particularly steep increase in volume and that the final values are already reached at around the 40th day. Concomitant with the increase in volume there is a decrease of the number of cells per unit volume of grey matter. In the binocular segment of lamina A the number of cells decreases from about 470 per (0.1 mm)3 at birth to between 95 and 130 per (0.1 mm)3 in the adult cat. Separate measurements of nerve cells and neuroglial cells indicate that the absolute number of nerve cells remains fairly constant during postnatal life, whereas between the second and sixth week a great number of neuroglial cells are newly formed.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1975