Abstract
BackgroundDisrupting neural migration with bilateral focal freezing necrosis on postnatal day 1 (P1) results in the formation of 4-layered microgyria. This developmental injury triggers a pervasive neural reorganization, which is evident at the electrophysiological, behavioral, and anatomical levels. In this experiment, we investigated changes in brain weight as an index of global disruption of neural systems caused by focal damage to the developing cortical plate.ResultsWe found a dramatic reduction in overall brain weight in microgyric subjects. This reduction in brain weight among animals with microgyria is reflected in decreased total brain volume, with a disproportionate decrease in neocortical volume. This effect is so robust that it is seen across varied environments, at variable ages, and across the sexes.ConclusionsThis finding supports previous work suggesting that substantial reorganization of the brain is triggered by the induction of bilateral freezing damage. These results have critical implications for the profound re-organizational effects of relatively small focal injuries early in development to distributed systems throughout the brain, and particularly in the cerebral cortex.
Highlights
Disrupting neural migration with bilateral focal freezing necrosis on postnatal day 1 (P1) results in the formation of 4-layered microgyria
Histological analysis confirmed the presence of bilateral microgyria in all subjects exposed to the P1 freezing lesion treatment (Figure 1)
The current findings show that early focal brain injuries, P1 focal freezing necrosis producing microgyria, lead to reductions in brain weight that are so robust that the main effect of Lesion does not interact with Environment, Age, or Sex
Summary
Disrupting neural migration with bilateral focal freezing necrosis on postnatal day 1 (P1) results in the formation of 4-layered microgyria. This developmental injury triggers a pervasive neural reorganization, which is evident at the electrophysiological, behavioral, and anatomical levels. In this experiment, we investigated changes in brain weight as an index of global disruption of neural systems caused by focal damage to the developing cortical plate. It has been shown that these malformations, resembling human microgyria, are associated with widespread disturbances in neuronal organization[4,5]. Changes in neuronal cell size distribution in the medial geniculate nuclei associated with the presence of neocortical malformations, have been demonstrated in both human dyslexic brains[13] and rat brains [14,15,16]
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