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. 1973 Dec;70(12 Pt 1-2):3473–3477. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.12.3473

Synaptic Rearrangement in the Dentate Gyrus: Histochemical Evidence of Adjustments after Lesions in Immature and Adult Rats

Carl W Cotman 1, Dee Ann Matthews 1, Dwan Taylor 1, Gary Lynch 1
PMCID: PMC427262  PMID: 4519639

Abstract

In immature animals, ablation of the entorhinal cortex elicited a rapid intensification of acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7) staining in the outer one-quarter of the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus. Subsequent lesions of the septum eliminated this acetylcholinesterase intensification. Electron-microscopic histochemical analysis demonstrated a 30-fold increase in the number of acetylcholinesterase-positive synaptic endings in the intensification zone. The acetylcholinesterase augmentation thus appears attributable, in part at least, to an increase in the number of acetylcholinesterase-rich synaptic endings established by septo-hippocampal fibers. Observations in a comparative study of immature and adult rats point to the animal's developmental state as a major determinant of differences in these lesion-induced neuronal adjustments.

Keywords: synapse, acetylcholinesterase, septum

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These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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