A pattern formed by preferential orientation of tangential fibres in layer I of the rabbit's cerebral cortex

Abstract

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.