Summary
Foci of undescended and arrested granule cells occur beneath the pial surface in the normal cerebellar cortex. The dendrites of the cells participate in synaptic glomeruli with mossy fibers and axons of stellate or basket cells that have been isolated in the foci. Thus, ectopic masses of granular layer are present at these sites in the molecular layer. These granule cells are probably among the last cells to proliferate in the external granular layer. It is proposed that because they may have been late in this phase of their development they were arrested prior to or during migration. Maturation and synapse formation, however, occur because of the arrival of mossy fibers from the internal granular layer. These observations exemplify the specificity of neuronal interaction during development. In addition, the data suggest that neurons may mature and form synapses with their proper partners despite having missed the migratory phase imposed on similar neurons in the normal state.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Altman, J.: Postnatal development of the cerebellar cortex in the rat. III. Maturation of the components of the granular layer. J. comp. Neurol. 145, 465–514 (1972).
Cajal, S. R.: Histologie du système nerveux de l'homme et des vertébrés, vol. II. Paris: Maloine 1911. Reprinted Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas 1952.
Chan-Palay, V., Palay, S. L.: Interrelations of basket cell axons and climbing fibers in the cerebellar cortex of the rat. Z. Anat. Entwickl.-Gesch. 132, 191–227 (1970).
Fujita, S.: Quantitative analysis of cell proliferation and differentiation in the cortex of the postnatal mouse cerebellum. J. Cell Biol. 32, 277–288 (1967).
Fujita, S., Shiumada, M., Nakamura, T.: H3-thymidine autoradiographic studies on the cell proliferation and differentiation in the external and internal granular layers of the mouse cerebellum. J. comp. Neurol. 128, 191–208 (1966).
Lemkey-Johnston, N., Larramendi, L. M. H.: Morphological characteristics of mouse stellate and basket cells and their neuroglial envelope: An electron microscopic study. J. comp. Neurol. 134, 39–72 (1968).
Miale, I. L., Sidman, R. L.: An autoradiographic analysis of histogenesis in the mouse cerebellum. Exp. Neurol. 4, 277–296 (1961).
Mugnaini, E.: Histology and cytology of the cerebellar cortex. In: The comparative anatomy and histology of the cerebellum. The human cerebellum, cerebellar connections and cerebellar cortex (O. Larsell and J. Jansen, eds.), p. 201–264. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press 1972.
Mugnaini, E., Forstrønen, P. F.: Ultrastructural studies on the cerebellar histogenesis. I. Differentiation of granule cells and development of glomeruli in the chick embryo. Z. Zellforsch. 77, 115–143 (1967).
Palay, S. L., Chan-Palay, V.: The cerebellar cortex: cytology and organization. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer 1973. In press.
Rakic, P.: Neuron-glia relationship during granule cell migration in developing cerebellar cortex. A Golgi and electron microscopic study in Macacus rhesus. J. comp. Neurol. 141, 283–312 (1971).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported in part by U.S. Public Health Service Research Grant NS 03659 and Training Grant NS 05591 from the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chan-Palay, V. Arrested granule cells and their synapses with mossy fibers in the molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex. Z. Anat. Entwickl. Gesch. 139, 11–20 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00520943
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00520943