[Quantitative examinations of stellate cells in the region of the cingulate gyrus in the rat]

Abstract

Brains of three months old male rats were handled by a modified Golgi-Kopsch method. Stellate cells of the gyrus cinguli were drawn, classified into four types and analyzed quantitatively. The values of the four types were compared by means of a varianz analysis. The four types are: isodendritic stellate cells without spines (I/OS), isodendritic stellate cells with spines (AI/OS), anisodendritic stellate cells without spines (AI/OS), anisodendritic stellate cells with spines (AI/MS). Type I/OS and type AI/MS are the most contrary one. Main results are: 1. The lengths of the dendritic branches show maximum values in the 3rd order. The dendritic lengths exhibit great deviations in all the four types. The alteration of the lengths values from one to the next order is similar the basal dendritic tree of primitive pyramidal neurons. The same analogy you can find for the dendritic numbers of corresponding orders: highest numbers are in the 2nd order, in the following orders the numbers decrease permanently. Isodendritic stellate cells without spines have significantly more dendrites of the 1st order compared with the other three types. 2. The branching pattern --- revealed in the number of free dendritic endings --- shows differences between isodendritic stellate cells without spines and anisodendritic stellate cells with spines. 3. The total lengths of the dendritic branches and the lengthes of the single dendritic fields are similar in significant differences: least lengths there are in anisodendritic stellate cells with spines, they are significantly different from isodendritic stellate cells with and without spines. 4. There are differences in the values of spines and varicosities between all types which causes the possibility of classifying stellate cells according to this parameter. This is valid for spines values of the orders, spines values of single dendritic fields and for the total number of spines for one neuron. 5. Localization and extending in the layers: most stellate cells extend through several layers. The isodendritic type is preferentially localizes in layer III, the anisodendritic one in layer V.