Postnatal development of the basolateral complex of rabbit amygdala: a stereological and histochemical study

The aim of the study was to estimate developmental changes in the rabbit basolateral complex (BLC) by stereological and histochemical methods. Material consisted of 45 brains of New Zealand rabbits (aged from 2 to 180 days, P2 to P180) of both sexes, divided into nine groups. The following parameters were estimated: volume of the cerebral hemisphere; volume of the whole BLC and of particular BLC nuclei; neuronal density and total number of neurons in these nuclei. Developmental changes in acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the BLC were also examined. The volume of the cerebral hemisphere increased until P30, whereas volumes of nuclei increased for longer--until P90. The density of neurons in all nuclei studied reached the level characteristic for an adult animal at about P30. The total number of neurons in the dorsolateral division of the lateral nucleus (Ldl) stabilized the earliest--between P30 and P60, whereas in the ventromedial division of the lateral nucleus (Lvm), basomedial (BM) and basolateral (BL) nuclei the number stabilized later--between P60 and P90. AChE activity appears minimal in the BLC on P2, reaches a maximum on P30 and then decreases to the level characteristic of an adult animal on P60. AChE activity was greater in BL than in other nuclei in all age groups. Reaching adult AChE activity 1 month earlier than the total number of neurons in the BLC may indicate a role of the cholinergic system in BLC maturation.