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Preparation of Acute Slices from Dorsal Hippocampus for Whole-Cell Recording and Neuronal Reconstruction in the Dentate Gyrus of Adult Mice
Published on: April 3, 2021
Pre-postnatal morphogenesis of rat hippocampal pyramidal cells
1Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, PO Box 2925, Riyadh 11461, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Tel. +966 (1) 4670809.
Insights
Neuroblasts rapidly develop into hippocampal pyramidal cells within two weeks after birth. Apical dendrite growth is significant from prenatal development through postnatal weeks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Histology
Background:
- Pyramidal cells are crucial for hippocampal function.
- Understanding their development is key to comprehending brain maturation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To track morphological changes in neuroblasts developing into pyramidal cells in the hippocampus.
- To quantify dendrite development from 15 days prenatal to 14 days postnatal.
Main Methods:
- Studied pregnant rats and pups at various prenatal and postnatal stages (15 days prenatal to 14 days postnatal).
- Employed histological examination with iron hematoxylin and Golgi staining techniques.
- Assessed dendrite multiplicity and length using paraffin sections.
Main Results:
- Pyramidal cells and beaded apical dendrites emerged by 18 days prenatal.
- At birth, dendrite stems shortened but showed increased branching and beading.
- Axons and basal dendrites appeared during the first two postnatal weeks.
Conclusions:
- Hippocampal pyramidal cells achieve full morphological development very early postnatally.
- Apical dendrite elongation from 18 days prenatal to 14 days postnatal was highly significant (P<0.00).
Objective:
To follow-up the morphological changes of the neuroblasts as they develop to pyramidal cell in the hippocampal cerebral cortex beginning from 15 days prenatal and ending 14 days postnatal. Particular metric and numerical estimations of the dendrites developed from these cells were carried out.
Methods:
Fifty pregnant rats classified into 5 groups were used to obtain 15 and 18 day embryos; birth, 7 day and 14 day pups. Brains of these animals were processed for histological examination using iron hematoxylin and golgi mixed methods of staining from paraffin sections. Multiplicity and length of the dendrites were assessed. The practical work was carried out in the Anatomy Department of the School of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the year 2002.
Results:
At 15 days prenatal, a few pyramidal cells appeared which greatly increased at 18 days prenatal with the development of their beaded apical dendrites. At birth, the dendrite stem became shorter but had more branches and beads. Postnatal one and 2 weeks consecutively witnessed the arise of axons and basal dendrites.
Conclusion:
These results showed the very early postnatal full morphological development of the hippocampus cortex pyramidal cells. The progressive increase in length of the apical dendrites during the period from 18 days prenatal when they first appeared to 14 days postnatal was highly significant (P< 0.00).
