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Cerebral Cortex Advance Access originally published online on July 25, 2007
Cerebral Cortex 2008 18(4):915-929; doi:10.1093/cercor/bhm124
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Lifespan Alterations of Basal Dendritic Trees of Pyramidal Neurons in the Human Prefrontal Cortex: A Layer-Specific Pattern

Zdravko Petanjek1,2,3, Milos Judas1,2, Ivica Kostovic1 and Harry B.M. Uylings3,4,5

1 Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, 2 Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, 3 The Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, KNAW, Graduate School of Neurosciences Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 4 Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, VU University Medical Center, PO Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 5 Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, Brain and Behaviour Institute, University of Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands

Address correspondence to Zdravko Petanjek, Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia. Email: zpetanjek{at}net.hr.

The postnatal development and lifespan alterations in basal dendrites of large layer IIIC and layer V pyramidal neurons were quantitatively studied. Both classes of neurons were characterized by rapid dendritic growth during the first postnatal months. At birth, layer V pyramidal neurons had larger and more complex dendritic trees than those of layer IIIC; however, at 1 postnatal month both classes of neurons displayed a similar extent of dendritic outgrowth. In addition, after a more than year-long "dormant" period of only fine dendritic rearrangement, layer IIIC pyramidal neurons displayed a second period of dendritic growth, starting at the end of the second year and continuing in the third year. During that period, the dendritic tree of layer IIIC pyramidal neurons became more extensive than that of layer V pyramidal neurons. Thus, layer IIIC pyramidal neurons appear to show a biphasic pattern of postnatal dendritic development. Furthermore, the childhood period was characterized by transient increase in size of pyramidal cell somata, which was more pronounced for neurons in layer IIIC. These structural changes occurred during both the period of rapid cognitive development in preschool children and the period of protracted cognitive maturation during the childhood, puberty, and adolescence.

Key Words: associative cortex • cortico-cortical connections neurons • dendritic spines • working memory


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