[Structural organization of subcortical-stem formations of the human brain during aging].

Using "Videoplan" apparatus manufactured by "Reihert" (Austria) the authors studied qualitative and quantitative cytoarchitectonic characteristics of the ventral posterolateral nucleus of the thalamus, individual reticular nuclei of the pontomesencephalic fissure, Meynert's nucleus and locus coeruleus in senile dementia (simple-type) and Alzheimer's disease in comparison with their structure in normal subjects of various age (from 30 to 90 years). Examination of 20-microns thin sections stained after Nissl has revealed both qualitative and quantitative cytoarchitectonic changes (a reduction in the area of the profile fields of neurons) which were more pronounced, along with cholinergic Meynert's nucleus, in the serotoninergic nuclei of the fissure and particularly in patients with Alzheimer's disease in whom they were far more expressed than in those with senile dementia.