BILATERAL INDUCTION OF NADPH-DIAPHORASE ACTIVITY IN NEOCORTICAL AND HIPPOCAMPAL-NEURONS BY UNILATERAL INJURY

Unilateral injury of the cerebral cortex or hippocampus induced a bila teral appearance of NADPH-diaphorase in some pyramidal neuronal and gl ial cells of both structures. Only in the cerebral cortex, near the ne edle track, did some V layer pyramidal neurons contain so much of this enzyme that they looked to be stained by the Golgi method. The induct ion of NADPH-diaphorase in a subset of cortical and hippocampal neuron s in both hemispheres after unilateral injections of either cysteamine or artificial cerebro-spinal fluid suggests the existence in the isoc ortex and the hippocampus of a selective signalling system which may p lay a role in recovery of function following local brain damage.