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Figure 4 | Neural Development

Figure 4

From: Pharmacological manipulation of GABA-driven activity in ovo disrupts the development of dendritic morphology but not the maturation of spinal cord network activity

Figure 4

Effect of bicuculline and muscimol on the dendritic morphology of E10 chicken lumbar motoneurons. Changes in the dendritic morphology of E10 chicken spinal motoneurons were assessed following daily applications of bicuculline and muscimol between E8 and E10. (A) Neurolucida drawing of DiI-labeled E10 lumbar motoneurons showing the typical dendritic structure of vehicle- and drug-treated motoneurons. (B-E) Treatment of chicken embryos with bicuculline (20 μM) or muscimol (5 μM) between E8 and E10 causes a significant decrease in the dendritic complexity of E10 motoneurons. Notice significant reduction in the overall length of the dendritic arbor/cell, number of branch points and number of ends in bicuculline- or muscimol-treated embryos when compared with vehicle-treated embryos. Treatment of chicken embryos with bicuculline (10 μM) has no effect on the dendritic morphology of E10 motoneurons when compared with vehicle-treated embryos. (F, G) Treatment of chicken embryos with bicuculline (10 or 20 μM) or muscimol (5 μM) between E8 and E10 has no effect on the cell body morphology. (H) Comparison of E10 dendritic morphology as a function of dendritic order in embryos treated with bicuculline or muscimol between E8 and E10. Application of bicuculline or muscimol to chicken embryos between E8 and E10 causes a significant reduction in the number of dendrites between the second and fourth dendritic orders when compared to vehicle-treated embryos. *P < 0.01 versus vehicle; **P < 0.05 versus bicuculline 10 μM. NS denotes no significant differences between the groups as indicated by one-way ANOVA.

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