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.
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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.
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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
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00520943