title: 3-D confocal laser scanning microscopy used in morphometric analysis of rat Purkinje cell dendritic spines after chronic ethanol consumption.
abstract: A confocal laser scanning microscope (with a 543 nm laser) was used for imaging rat Purkinje cell dendritic spines at high 3-D resolution. In a nutritionally controlled study of the rat, 5 months of ethanol consumption was demonstrated to alter the spines of Purkinje cell dendrites in rat cerebellum. Intact spines showed significant elongation after ethanol exposure, whereas this neuromorphological alteration could not be detected in controls. Spine elongation could be regarded as compensative growth of spines in search of new synaptic contacts due to alcohol induced cell loss.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary-Anatomy, -Histology and -Embryology, University of Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wenisch
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fortmann
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Steinmetz
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kriete
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leiser
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bitsch
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003712:Dendrites / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012016:Reference Values