The morphology and distribution of peptide-containing neurons in the adult and developing visual cortex of the rat. IV. Avian pancreatic polypeptide.

Immunocytochemical techniques were used to investigate the morphology and distribution of avian pancreatic polypeptide-like immunoreactive neurons in the visual cortex of albino rats at various ages from the first postnatal day to adulthood. In the adult, immunoreactive neurons were located in layers II to VI but were somewhat concentrated in the deeper cortical layers. The overwhelming majority of labelled cells exhibited morphologies characteristic of multipolar, bitufted and bipolar varieties of non-pyramidal neurons as described in Golgi preparations of rat visual cortex. However, a few immunoreactive pyramidal neurons were also observed. On the first postnatal day, a small number of immature non-pyramidal neurons were observed in the subplate region. Labelled cells appeared in the more superficial layers at the beginning of the second postnatal week and attained a distribution similar to that observed in adult animals during the third week. The morphological maturation of immunoreactive neurons occurred gradually during the first two postnatal weeks and at day 21, they appeared qualitatively indistinguishable from their adult counterparts.