Cerebral Cortex, Vol 8, 245-252, Copyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press
N Zecevic
The formation of synapses is among the most important steps in neuronal
differentiation and the establishment of neuronal circuits. To establish
baseline data about the time of onset, density and the course of synaptic
formation in different regions of the human cerebral cortex before birth,
synaptogenesis in layer I was examined by electron microscopy in fetuses
ranging in age from 6 to 24 gestational weeks. Synapses were first observed
in the primordial plexiform layer (marginal zone) in both the lateral and
medial cerebral walls between the 6th and 7th gestational week, before the
formation of the cortical plate. The density of synapses increased rapidly
after the formation of the cortical plate, increasing by 37% between 12 and
14 weeks. Synaptogenesis proceeded at the same rate in the lateral and
occipital cortex during this period. Further, with one exception, the
insular region, synaptic density was comparable in prospective areas of
prefrontal, motor, visual, temporal and cingulate cortex in a group of
fetuses at midgestation (20 weeks). The results are consistent with a
synchronous course of synaptogenesis of the neocortex.
ARTICLES
Synaptogenesis in layer I of the human cerebral cortex in the first half of gestation
Department of Neurology, University of Connecticut, Farmington 06030- 1845, USA. nzecevic@cortex.uchc.edu
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