title: Minicolumnar width: Comparison between supragranular and infragranular layers.
abstract: The minicolumn derives from the radial migration of neurons along glial scaffoldings during gestation. Investigators have presumed the minicolumn to be a single-cell wide structure based on their rectilinear migratory origin. The present study measures the width of minicolumnar cores in both supra- and infra-granular layers. Postmortem tissue was obtained from 9 brain areas in 7 normative individuals. Examined tissues were celloidin embedded and Nissl stained. Digital images were denoised and then analyzed with a step-wise algorithm involving region growing and recursive line tracing. Significant differences were noted between the minicolumnar core widths of supra- and infra-granular layers. A review of the literature on corticogenesis provides some ideas as to how these laminar differences in minicolumnar core width are engendered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, United States. m0casa02@louisville.edu
authors.forename: Manuel F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Casanova
authors.forename: Ayman
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: El-Baz
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vanbogaert
authors.forename: Praveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Narahari
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Trippe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D016011:Normal Distribution; D055815:Young Adult