Effect of protein-calorie deficiency on the ultrastructure of synapses in the molecular layer of the cerebellar cortex in developing and adult animals

The influence of protein-caloric deficiency on the ultrastructure of synapses in the molecular layer of the cerebellum has been quantitatively assessed in young and adult mice. It has been found that protein-caloric deficiency in the early postnatal period delays the time of axo-dendritic synapse development in the neuropil. Adult mice were more resistant to the influence of protein-caloric deficiency because of an increase in compensatory-adaptive reactions found in the cerebellum.