Appearance and differentiation of NADPH-D-neurons in ontogeny of the cerebral cortex in rats

The appearance of presumptive NO-ergic nerve cells and their differentiation in the rat neocortex were studied. For this purpose, a comparative analysis of the development and differentiation of NADPH-D-positive neurons in the neocortex transplants taken from the embryos of different ages and transplanted in the occipital cortex of adult rats and in the normally developing cerebral cortex. The nervous tissue was stained histochemically for NADPH-D. The results we obtained suggest that no NADPH-D-containing neurons were found in the transplants from 15-day embryos, while they developed in those from 18-day embryos. Hence, precursors of NO-ergic neurons were still absent in the presumptive neocortex of 15-day embryos and appeared only on day 16-18 of embryogenesis. Expression of NADPH-D begins in them only within four to five days, but the neurons are differentiated during a relatively short period of time. Most NADPH-D-positive neurons reach their structural-functional maturity already by the end of the first week of postnatal development, while their complete maturation takes place by the end of the second week of postnatal development.