1991 Volume 24 Issue 3 Pages 269-275
The existence of possible right-left asymmetries in sulfide-silver stainable fibre systems in the rat frontal, parietal and occipital cortices was assessed using the neo-Timm histochemical technique associated with microdensitometry. In the cerebral cortex sulfide-silver stainable fibres are localized in the neuropil of laminae I-III and V. The density of sulfide-silver stainable fibres which is parallel to the density of zinc-containing presynaptic structures, was the highest in the right frontal cortex and the lowest in the right occipital cortex. In the frontal cortex sulfide-silver staining is stronger in the right hemisphere than in the left (P<0.001). In the parietal cortex, values of the density of sulfide-silver stainable fibres did not show significant right-left differences. In the occipital cortex the density of sulfide-silver staining was higher in the left hemisphere than in the right (P<0.001). The functional significance of the above right-left asymmetries in the density of sulfide-silver stainable fibres in the rat cerebral cortex cannot be established on the basis of our findings alone. However, our study indicates the sensitivity of specific histochemical techniques in assessing right-left asymmetries in cerebral cortex microanatomy.
