[Dendrite-morphometry of lamina-V-pyramidal cells in premature brain damaged humans--a Golgi study]

Specimens from the area 10 of the frontal cortex collected out of 7 patients with severe mental retardation, aged 3 to 24 years and also 8 non-neuropsychiatric age-matched controls were processed according to the Golgi-Kopsch method. The total length of the apical side-dendrites and of the basal dendrites was measured on layer V pyramidal neurons. Compared with controls the total dendritic length of the apical side-dendrites as well as of the basal dendrites was significant reduced in the affected patients (p less than 0.001). The reduced dendritic length represents perhaps a morphological correlate to the mental dysfunction.