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Age‐related changes of NADPH‐diaphorase‐positive neurons in the rat inferior colliculus and auditory cortex
Author(s) -
SánchezZuriaga Daniel,
MartíGutiérrez Nuria,
De La Cruz Maria Ángeles Pérez,
PerisSanchis Maria Rosa
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/jemt.20512
Subject(s) - inferior colliculus , auditory cortex , nadph dehydrogenase , nitric oxide synthase , nitric oxide , cortex (anatomy) , central nervous system , neuroscience , ageing , biology , chemistry , anatomy , medicine , endocrinology , nucleus
Nitric oxide (NO) has been implied in age‐related changes of the central nervous system (CNS) and the central auditory pathway. The present study was conducted to investigate whether the number of NO‐producing cells and their morphometric characteristics in the inferior colliculus (IC) and the auditory cortex (AC) are changed with the increasing age of the subjects. IC and AC sections of adult and senile Wistar rats were studied using the histochemical detection of NADPH‐diaphorase activity (NADPH‐d), a marker for neurons containing nitric oxide synthase (NOS). Our results showed a decreased area of the somas of NADPH‐d‐positive neurons in the dorsal cortex (DC) of the IC and a diffuse loss of NADPH‐d‐positive neurons in the senile IC and primary cortical auditory area (Te1). However, an increased number of NO‐producing cells have been shown by other authors in different parts of the ageing auditory pathway and CNS. It seems that age‐related changes in NADPH‐d‐positive cells may follow a region‐specific route. These changes may be related to hearing impairments with increasing age. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.