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Updated: Apr 3, 2026

A Comparative Approach for Quantitative Cell Counting Studies in Widely Different Mammalian Brains
Published on: January 16, 2026
[NUCLEAR AND PERIKARYA SIZES OF THE NEURONS IN THE NUCLEUS BASALIS OF MEYNERT AND POSTERIOR HYPOTHALAMUS IN DIFFERENT
Abstract:
Morphometric parameters of neuronal metabolic activity, such as the area of neuronal nuclei and perikarya and nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio, in the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM), tuberomamillary (TMN) and medial mammillary (MMN) hypothalamic nuclei of human subjects belonging to four age groups were studied. Statistically significant increase in the size of neuronal perikarya and their nuclei was found in elderly people aged 60-74 years. The surge in the metabolic activity of neurons in the NBM starts earlier than in the TMN and MMN, and becomes apparent morphologically in people of middle age (45-59 years). The age-related increase in the metabolic activity of neurons in the studied structures of the human brain participating in the regulation of memory and other cognitive functions, may represent protective, adaptive and/or compensatory mechanisms of the aging process that also prevents the development of Alzheimer's disease.
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