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Structural basis of the developmental plasticity in the human cerebral cortex: the role of the transient subplate
I Kostović1, N Lukinović, M Judas
1Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Yugoslavia.
Insights
The study reveals how the fetal subplate zone aids brain repair after early frontal lobe injury in premature infants. This transient brain structure facilitates remarkable recovery and functional plasticity following hypoxic lesions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- The frontal lobe's development is crucial for cognitive functions.
- Early focal hypoxic lesions in premature infants can lead to long-term neurological deficits.
- The subplate zone is a transient fetal structure critical for cortical development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To correlate neuroanatomical development with ultrasonography findings.
- To understand the structural basis of functional recovery after early frontal lobe injury.
- To investigate the role of the subplate zone in brain plasticity.
Main Methods:
- Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemistry, Golgi, and immunocytochemistry on human brain tissue (premature, newborn, infant, adult).
- Serial real-time sector ultrasonography (5-MHz transducer) to track in vivo structural changes.
- Correlation of neuroanatomical parameters with sequential imaging data.
Main Results:
- The subplate zone, peaking between 22-34 weeks gestation, contains "waiting" axons and fetal neurons.
- Ultrasonography showed rapid cyst formation (within 3 weeks) in premature brains with lesions during the subplate's peak development.
- These cavities resolved around 11 months, indicating significant structural remodeling and repair.
Conclusions:
- The subplate zone plays a vital role in the structural and functional plasticity of the developing human cerebral cortex.
- Transient structures like the subplate zone are key to recovery from perinatal brain damage.
- Ultrasonography is effective in visualizing in vivo brain repair mechanisms.
Abstract:
We correlated neuroanatomical developmental parameters with sequential ultrasonography scans to reveal the structural basis of functional recovery after early focal hypoxic lesions of the human frontal lobe in premature infants. We studied the transient fetal subplate zone in the premotor and prefrontal cortex in premature, newborn, infant, and young adult brains by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemical, Golgi, and immunocytochemical methods. The structural in vivo rearrangements of the cerebral wall after perinatal lesions were studied on serial real-time sector scans (5-MHz transducer). The subplate zone contains "waiting" axons and randomly oriented fetal neurons, its developmental peak is between 22 and 34 weeks of gestation, and it is present in the frontal cortex of newborns and disappears after the sixth postnatal month, but individual subplate-like neurons remain until adulthood. Ultrasonography revealed remarkable structural rearrangements of the cerebral wall when the hypoxic lesion occurred during the developmental peak of the subplate zone: anechoic cavities ("cysts") develop rapidly (within 3 weeks) in premature brains, the rebuilding of these lesions continues after birth, and cavities disappear around the 11th month. We propose that the transient population of "waiting" axons and cells of the subplate zone participate in the structural and functional plasticity of the human cerebral cortex after perinatal brain damage.