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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2009 Oct 7.
Published in final edited form as: Neuron. 2003 Oct 30;40(3):501–514. doi: 10.1016/s0896-6273(03)00666-4

Figure 3. Altered Dendritic Orientation and Branching of fak−/− Neurons.

Figure 3

(A–D) MAP-2-positive dendrites of cortical neurons in control brain had a parallel, striped orientation (arrows, [A and C]), whereas, in the fak−/− cortex, they were frequently abnormally oriented (arrows, [B]) or were drawn into a tangled nodule in areas of cortical dysplasia (arrows, [D]).

(E–H) Golgi impregnation of control (E and G) and fak mutant cortex further revealed lamination defects (asterisk, [F]) but additionally uncovered defects in dendritic branching. Normally, pyramidal neurons extend a single apical dendrite perpendicular to the pial surface. fak−/− cortical neurons displayed a highly branched dendritic morphology. At higher magnification of the boxed areas, the increased branching of fak−/− pyramidal neurons was clearly evident (arrows, [H]), even in areas of less-disturbed dysplasia.

(I) Dendritic spines from cortical neurons of control and fak−/− mice were relatively normal. Scale bar, 200 µm (B and F), 50 µm (D), 100 µm (H), and 20 µm (I).