Experimental reorganization of the cerebellar cortex. V. Effects of X‐irradiation schedules that allow or prevent cell acquisition after basket cells are formed

In Long‐Evans rats the area of the cerebellum was X‐irradiated with two schedules beginning on day 8 by which time the bulk of basket cells were formed. The shorter schedule of four successive daily doses of 200 r between 8–11 days was designed to allow some cell recovery, the longer schedule between 8–15 days was expected to prevent it. Neither of the schedules interfered with the differentiation of basket cells. Purkinje cells remained aligned in a monocellular layer and formed singularly long, upright stem dendrites which were surrounded by the descending collaterals of basket cell axons. This supported the hypothesis that the directed growth of Purkinje cell stem dendrite is promoted by morphogenic interaction with basket cells. The upright stem dendrites had few or no smooth branches where cell recovery was prevented or had few such branches where recovery occurred. It was postulated that the outgrowth of smooth branches is dependent on interaction with stellate cells which form after the acquisition of basket cells. The absence or scarcity of smooth branches did not prevent the formation of spiny branchlets which grew downward to establish synaptic contacts with the spared parallel fibers of granule cells formed before the start of irradiation. In the group with some granule cell recovery, spiny branchlets grew to a limited extent upward into the pile of parallel fibers formed after the irradiation.