Structural Transformations in Neural Clusters of the Cerebral and Cerebellar Cortex in Children

Objective – the study of age-related changes in neural groups of the cerebral cortex and cerebellar cortex in the process of upward ontogenesis.

Material and methods. The work was done on post-mortal  material  (75 left cerebral  hemispheres, 62 cerebellum) obtained from children from birth to 12 years old who died as a result of injuries without damage to the brain. Using computer morphometry on the Nissl stained frontal histological sections of the cerebral cortex taken in layer III of fields 8, 6oр and 37ac, as well as in the granular layer of the paramedian lobule of the cerebellar cortex (H VII B), the area of the neural group on the section and the total area of neurons were measured as part of a grouping. Quantitative data analysis was carried out using variation statistics in annual intervals.

Results. In children from birth to 12 years, in the dynamics of developmental changes in the microstructure of the cerebral and cerebellar cortical zones associated with visual-spatial perception, 4 stages of quantitative changes in the cluster (ensemble) organization of the cortex are distinguished: I - from birth to the end of 1 year of life, II – from 1 to the end of 2 years, III – from 3 to 5–6 years, IV – from 5–6 to 8–9 years. In the cerebellum cortex, significant changes in the structure of neural clusters are observed by the end of 1 year of life, by 3 and by 5–6 years. Structural changes in neural groups differ in terms and intensity in each of the studied fields.

Conclusion. The sizes of neural clusters in the microstructure of the cerebral and cerebellar cortex are informative indicators for identifying the stages of significant age-related transformations in different zones of the human cortical formations in postnatal ontogenesis, and can be recommended for use in comparative anatomical and clinical studies.

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