D. Riche et al., DEVELOPMENTAL-CHANGES OF NADPH-DIAPHORASE NEURONS IN THE FOREBRAIN OFNEONATAL AND ADULT CAT, Developmental brain research, 89(1), 1995, pp. 139-145
We examined morphological changes of neurons stained for NADPH-diaphor
ase (a marker for nitric oxide synthase, NOS) in maturing cat brains.
In the newborn and 2-week-old kittens reactive neurons were dispersed
throughout the cortical layers, in the white matter and in subcortical
structures, with dense staining in some thalamic nuclei. In the adult
, the density of reactive neurons was considerably decreased in the co
rtex and the white matter. In the thalamus, only some nuclei retained
a faint labeling. Morphological changes also occurred at the cellular
level. In the neonate, stained cells had prominent, thick processes wi
th numerous beads and varicosities. In the adult, the processes were l
onger and thinner, with smaller varicosities. These observations provi
de further evidence that NOS may play a role during development.