Postnatal modifications of the dendritic tree of cells in the inferior colliculus of the cat. A quantitative Golgi analysis.

Postnatal modifications of dendrites have been quantitatively studied by network analysis of the dendritic tree in the two central nuclei of the inferior colliculus in the cat. This analysis revealed cells with two types of branching patterns suggesting two different modes of growth. The predominant pattern is characterized by dichotomous branching on random segments (DR cells). However, a purely collateral branching pattern is particular to certain cells (CB cells). These two branching patterns were found in both nuclei of the IC in adult and young cats, but the exact significance of these two cell types remains unclear. The dendritic trees of cells in kittens differed from those of the adult cat. Also, the types of modification were different in the two functionally distinct nuclei of the inferior colliculus that we studied. The most dramatic modifications were observed in the dendritic tree of DR cells in the central nucleus, which receives fibers from the auditory nuclei in the brainstem. Two parameters were modified: the mean number of terminal segments and the mean total length of segments. Both parameters increased in the sagittal plane and decreased in the frontal plane. These modifications indicate a reorientation of the dendritic tree in the sagittal plane, along the incoming axons from the auditory nuclei. As these afferents become functionally mature only after birth, this spatial remodeling of the dendrites seems closely related to functional maturation of secondary auditory axons. In the dorsomedial nucleus that receives fibers from the auditory cortices, the dendritic tree of DR cells also undergoes spatial reorientation. This is more evident in the horizontal plane and with respect to the incoming axons. Our results suggest that the characteristic orientation of the dendritic tree of cells observed in the inferior colliculus of the adult cat is established only after the first postnatal weeks. This orientation seems to result from an active process of remodeling concomitant with the functional maturation of afferents, a fact already established for various cell types in the nervous system.