Alterations in the postnatal development of the cerebellar cortex due to zinc deficiency. I. Impaired acquisition of granule cells.

The effects of zinc deficiency on cerebellar development were investigated in suckling rats. In 21-day-old zinc-deficient rats the cerebellum as well as the whole brain was reduced in size. The cerebellar cortex was underdeveloped and showed a persistence of the external granule cell layer, a reduction in the thickness of molecular layer and a decrease in the area of the internal granule cell layer. Lobular variations were present. Along the posterior superior fissure there was approximately a 60% reduction in the number of granule cells and in the number of granule cells per Purkinje cell. It was suggested that the reduction in the number of granule cells was predominantly the result of impaired cell proliferation in the external granule cell layer. Comparisons with undernourished, pair-fed pups indicated that the effects of zinc deficiency could not be mediated totally through the reduced food consumption experienced by zinc deficient dams.