Postnatal development of the granule cell in the kitten cerebellum

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Abstract
Newborn to 9‐week‐old kittens were anesthetized and then sacrificed by inserting a scalpel into the thoracic cavity and severing the descending aorta. The cerebella were removed and processed according to Golgi‐Cox and rapid Golgi modifications. The results indicate that the dendritic processes of the granule cells undergo a marked postnatal maturation even though there is little postmigratory change in the size and shape of the cell body. A clubshaped swelling of the distal portions of the dendrites is observed by the end of the first week; this “claw” becomes multilobated by three weeks and displays elaborate digitiform projections by nine weeks. The sequence of postnatal development in the kitten appears to follow a time course similar to that observed in other species. A possible correlation between the postnatal development of the granule cell and the postnatal development of the spincocerebellar system is discussed.