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Quantitative phylogenetic constancy of cerebellar purkinje cell morphological complexity
Author(s) -
Smith Thomas G.,
Brauer Kurt,
Reichenbach Andreas
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.903310309
Subject(s) - biology , soma , fractal dimension , neuroscience , evolutionary biology , morphological analysis , cerebellum , anatomy , fractal , mathematical analysis , mathematics , artificial intelligence , computer science
Golgi‐stained material of cerebellar cortices from 17 species was examined by measuring the fractal dimensions of the borders of Purkinje cells, which is a quantitative, objective measure of morphological complexity. Nine species (from birds to man) were chosen for a comparison with ANOVA and no statistically significant differences were found in their fractal dimensions. In contrast, a wide range of differences was found in the membrane areas across species lines. The Sholl coefficient, a measure of branch formation and temination and termination away from the soma, showed no consistent pattern for each cell. We interpret our results as indicating a constancy in morphological cellular complexity of Purkinje cells during late evolutionary time. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.