The cerebellar granule cell continues to proliferate after birth in the mouse as well as in the human being. Total asphyxia in the neonatal period in 40 mice resulted in a 13% reduction in the granule cell number and a 7% reduction in the Purkinje cell number. Differential effects on granule cell and Purkinje cell populations were noted when particular cerebellar lobules were examined.
The effects of neonatal asphyxia on the serotonin neuron system were examined using the immunoperoxidase method. Male mice, 2 days of age, were exposed to total asphyxia (100% C02) for 30 min. Mice that spontaneously survived were perfused transcardially with a fixative at 15, 30 and 60 days of age. Quantitative immunohistochemical analysis at 60 days of age demonstrated a significant decrease in the numbers of serotonin-immunoreactive cell bodies in the nucleus raphe dorsalis, the nucleus raphe pontis, the sub-pyramidal region, the total raphe system and the whole brain, while no significant reduction in the number of serotonin-immunoreactive cell bodies was observed in the caudal raphe system. Presumably degenerative changes in serotonin-immunoreactive fibers were observed in various parts of the brain of mice subjected to total asphyxia at 15 days of age, and the numbers of degenerated fibers decreased in almost all parts of the brain, the exception being the caudal portion of the brainstem, at 30 and 60 days of age. These results suggested that neonatal asphyxia induced permanent changes in the serotonin neuron system, with regional differences.
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