Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T03:24:17.718Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A stereological analysis of the lateral geniculate nucleus in adult Macaca nemestrina monkeys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 1999

BEATRIZ BLASCO ,
CARLOS AVENDAÑO  and
CARMEN CAVADA
BEATRIZ BLASCO
Affiliation:
Department of Morphology, Medical School, Autónoma University, 28029 Madrid, Spain
CARLOS AVENDAÑO
Affiliation:
Department of Morphology, Medical School, Autónoma University, 28029 Madrid, Spain
CARMEN CAVADA
Affiliation:
Department of Morphology, Medical School, Autónoma University, 28029 Madrid, Spain
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Cavalieri method and the optical fractionator were employed to estimate the volume and neuron numbers, respectively, of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) in seven adult male pigtail monkeys (Macaca nemestrina). Unbiased estimates were selectively obtained for the parvocellular (P), magnocellular (M), and interlaminar plus superficial (I + S) layers of the nucleus. The dLGN had a mean volume of 56.5 mm3, and contained on average 1.79 million neurons. The P layers contributed 64% of the volume and 83% of the neurons in the dLGN; the corresponding proportions for the other layers were 13% and 9% (M), and 23% and 8% (I + S). Interindividual variability was large for neuron counts, which varied within a two-fold range, and lower for volume estimates. Since no published data are available for the pigtail dLGN, the present results are compared with quantitative studies of the dLGN in other macaque species, placing special emphasis in the discussion of the methodologies used.

Keywords

StereologyNeuron numberThalamusVisual pathwaysMacaque
Type
Research Article
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 16 , Issue 5 , September 1999 , pp. 933 - 941
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)