[Cytochemical indices of intercentral interrelations of the motor and visual analyzers during light deprivation]

The authors used the interferometrical method to determine the content and concentration of the proteins in the neuron cytoplasma of the III and V layer in the motor and visual areas of the brain cortex in rabbits in normal conditions and prolonged light deprivation (from the moment of birth up to 2 1/2 months). These data were accompanied by measurements of the neuron area. It was demonstrated that the absence of visual impulses leads to a morphochemical underdevelopment of the neurons in the visual cortex layers. Such underdevelopment was expressed in a decrease in the size of the neurons and protein content in the cytoplasma compared to the control group. In the neurons of the III and V layer of the motor cortex of the same animals there were changes of a compensatory character (an increase in the size of the neurons, content and concentration of proteins in the cytoplasma). In this respect the authors discuss the question of the influence of specific visual and other forms of impulsation on the morphochemical differentiation of neurons in the studied brain cortex.