Age-related changes in soma size of neurons in the spinal cord motor column of the cat

The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of the aging process on the soma size and number of motoneurons and interneurons in the motor column of the spinal cord of old cats. Neurons in the motor column were divided into small and large populations based on a bimodal distribution of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience letters 1996-06, Vol.211 (3), p.163-166
Main Authors: Liu, Rong-Huan, Bertolotto, Cristina, Engelhardt, John K., Chase, Michael H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Aging - physiology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Cat
Cats
Cell Count
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Interneuron
Interneurons - physiology
Motoneuron
Motor control and motor pathways. Reflexes. Control centers of vegetative functions. Vestibular system and equilibration
Motor Neurons - physiology
Spinal cord
Spinal Cord - physiology
Spinal Cord - ultrastructure
Ventral horn
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of the aging process on the soma size and number of motoneurons and interneurons in the motor column of the spinal cord of old cats. Neurons in the motor column were divided into small and large populations based on a bimodal distribution of their soma cross-sectional areas. A 17% decrease in the cross-sectional area of small neurons was observed, this decrease was statistically significant ( P < 0.0001). The cross-sectional area of large neurons decreased by only 6%, which was statistically significant ( P < 0.05). On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the number of large, small or of these combined population of ventral horn neurons in the aged cats compared with the control animals. This data suggest that neurons in the motor column are not uniformly affected by the aging process because morphological changes are proportionally greater in small neurons than in large neurons.
ISSN:0304-3940
1872-7972
DOI:10.1016/0304-3940(96)12742-7