title: Surface complexity of human neocortical astrocytic cells: changes with development, aging, and dementia.
abstract: Astrocytes from area 11 of the human neocortex were Golgi-impregnated. The material was taken from four human subjects, (1) a neonate without obvious CNS damage, (2) a middle-aged adult serving as control, (3) an aged individual without apparent mental disturbances, and (4) an aged patient with dementia. Camera-lucida drawings of 7 to 26 astrocytic cells from each donor were digitized into a personal computer, and analyzed for their fractal dimension D which is an objective and quantitative measure of the complexity of the cell's borders. Both radial and multipolar astrocytes from neonatal cortex showed a comparatively low fractal dimension (D approximately 1.39), that is, low surface complexity. Adult ("control") astrocytes were characterized by a high fractal dimension (D = 1.57), corresponding to their large surface complexity. Astrocytes from the aged subject showed a somewhat smaller fractal dimension (D = 1.51) and, thus, surface complexity; this difference was however not highly significant. In contrast, astrocytes from the subject with dementia showed a significant reduction in surface complexity (D = 1.47). Parallel changes were observed in the brain volume compartment occupied by the process of individual astrocytes. These data suggest that formation and maintenance of astrocytic processes and/or side branches correlate positively with the degree of information processing within their neuronal environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Würzburg, F.R.G.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Senitz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reichenbach
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000473:pathology; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D048429:Cell Size / Q000502:physiology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003704:Dementia / Q000473:pathology*; D017709:Fractals; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D013499:Surface Properties