The optic nerve of the cat: Appearance and loss of axons during normal development
Developmental Brain ResearchPublished 1 November 1982
Alfred Y.K. Ng, Jonathan Stone
Citations108
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TL;DR
The number of axons in the optic nerve has been estimated in cats ranging in age from mid-gestation to adulthood and declined rapidly in the last prenatal week and the first postnatal week, stabilizing at adult levels 2-3 weeks after birth.
Abstract
The number of axons in the optic nerve has been estimated in cats ranging in age from mid-gestation to adulthood. At mid-gestation the number of axons present in the nerve (218,000) already exceeded adult levels. The number of axons, nevertheless, more than doubled over the next 10-20 days, reaching a maximum of 450,000-483,000. In the last prenatal week and the first postnatal week, the number of axons declined rapidly, stabilizing at adult levels 2-3 weeks after birth. Myelination began just before birth and reached adult levels (over 95% of axons myelinated) 6-8 weeks after birth. Several mechanisms which may underlie the loss of axons are discussed.
Keywords
MedicineNeuroscience
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