Neuroscience research
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Neuroscience research · Sep 2004
A morphometric study of the progressive changes on NADPH diaphorase activity in the developing rat's barrel field.
The distribution of NADPH diaphorase (NADPH-d)/nitric oxide synthase (NOS) neurons was evaluated during the postnatal development of the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) of the rat. Both cell counts and area measurements of barrel fields were carried out throughout cortical maturation. In addition, NADPH-d and cytochrome oxidase (CO) activities were also compared in both coronal and tangential sections of rat SI between postnatal days (P) 10 and 90. ⋯ The dendritic arborization of NADPH-d neurons became more elaborated during barrel development. In all ages evaluated, the number of NADPH-d cells was always higher in septa than in the barrel hollows. Both high neuropil reactivity and differential distribution of NADPH-d neurons during SI development suggest a role for nitric oxide throughout barrel field maturation.