BRANCHING PATTERNS OF HIPPOCAMPAL-NEURONS OF HUMAN-FETUS DURING DENDRITIC DIFFERENTIATION

Branch and fission angles of hippocampal pyramidal neurons from two human fetal brain specimens were investigated. A computer microscope was utilized to collect and reconstruct three-dimensional data representing neuronal structures as they appear in Golgi-impregnated tissue. The data suggest that neuronal processes, in particular dendrites, undergo a partial collapse of their angles of branching at bifurcation points (nodes) during the phase of maximum dendritic differentiation in the normally maturing human hippocampus (18 to 33 weeks gestational age). Data are also presented concerning the distribution of nodes about the soma location which should assist in the formulation of probabilistic descriptions of axonal and dendritic branching patterns in human cortical neurons. © 1979.