STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX

建议继续研究形态、组织、 视觉皮层神经元的突触连接和免疫化学 老鼠、猫和猴子。 将采用高尔基电镜技术来检查 神经胶质细胞的形态和突触连接，局部 环路神经元和锥体细胞。 此类研究的结果将是 与使用抗体获得的数据与推定和潜在的相关 神经递质以确定化学定义的分布 神经元群及其末端。 还建议开发 使用抗体组合的技术以及抗体加 Golgi-EM 用于确定差异标记的神经元如何相互作用。 尽管长期以来人们认为只有两种形态类型 大脑皮层的突触，这种观点受到质疑，因为 当然可以区分的轴突终端不止两种 根据突触小泡的大小。 其目的是 确定到底有多少类型的轴突末端和突触存在，如何 它们是分布式的，并且是否可以在来源之间建立关联 终端、它们的形态和它们的发射器内容。 最后，将使用大鼠视觉皮层来确定其是否含有 规则排列的垂直方向的神经元组，这给出了 皮层是一个有图案的矩阵。 目标是更好地定义皮质神经元通常如何相互作用， 在理解这一点之前，不可能理解这些变化 发生在改变的状态下，以及药物如何改变神经元功能。

It is proposed to continue studies of the morphology, organization, synaptic connections and immunochemistry of neurons in the visual cortices of rat, cat, and monkey. A Golgi-EM technique will be employed to examine the morphology and synaptic connections of neurogliaform cells, local circuit neurons, and pyramidal cells. The results of such studies will be correlated with data obtained using antibodies to putative and potential neurotransmitters to determine the distribution of chemically defined groups of neurons and their terminals. It is also proposed to develop techniques for using combinations of antibodies, and antibodies plus Golgi-EM to determine how differentially labeled neurons interact. Although it has long been held that there are only two morphological types of synapses in cerebral cortex, this view is questioned, for there are certainly more than two types of axon terminals which can be distinguished on the basis of the sizes of their synaptic vesicles. It is intended to ascertain how many types of axon terminals and synapses really exist, how they are distributed, and if correlations can be made between the sources of the terminals, their morphology and their transmitter content. Finally, rat visual cortex will be used to determine if it contains regularly arranged groups of vertically oriented neurons, which give the cortex a patterned matrix. The goal is to better define how cortical neurons normally interact, for until this is understood it is not possible to appreciate the changes which occur in altered states, and how neuronal function can be altered by drugs.