Dendritic development of motor neurons in the cervical anterior horn and hypoglossal nucleus of normal infants and victims of sudden infant death syndrome.

Morphometric Golgi methods were used to study dendritic development of neurons in the cervical ventral and dorsal horns and the hypoglossal nucleus of 8 victims of sudden infant death syndrome and 20 age-matched control infants. The dendrites and spines of these neurons proliferated rapidly until 28 weeks gestation, then increased slowly until shortly after birth. Dendritic spine density of motor neurons in the cervical anterior horn and hypoglossal nucleus of victims of sudden infant death syndrome was similar to that of the controls. Thus, the delayed maturation of dendritic spines seen in the reticular formation and vagal nuclei is not present in motor neurons of the cervical anterior horn and hypoglossal nucleus.