Summary
The density of senile plaques (SP) was determined in 55 cytoarchitectonic areas of the cerebral cortex in three aged (27 + years) macaque monkeys. In silverstained sections the SP distributions pattern was variable, with a predilection for frontal areas and the primary somatosensory cortex. In one monkey, SP density in motor and premotor areas reached a level comparable to that found in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Lower SP densities were found in the amygdala and insula, and in cingulate, limbic temporal, and temporal, occipital, and parietal association cortices. Then lowest densities were in the hippocampus and in the primary auditory and primary visual cortices. SP stained with Congo red, to identify the older amyloid-containing plaques, showed a similar distribution.but were fewer in number. There was at times a marked shift in SP density between adjacent cytoarchitectonic fields, suggesting that cytoarchitectonics or connectivity may play a role in determining SP distribution. The distribution of the SP in the normal aged human brain according to cytoarchitectonic areas is not known. Their pattern of distribution in these three primates appears to differ from that found in AD, which emphasizes the hippocampus, amygdala, entorhinal cortex, and temporal and parietal lobe.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bonin G von, Bailey P (1947) The neocortex ofMacaca mulatta. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, pp 1–168
Braak H, Braak E, Ohm T, Bohl J (1988) Silver impregnation of Alzheimer's neurofibrillary changes counterstained for basophilic material and lipofuscin pigment. Stain Technol 63: 197–200
Braak H, Braak E, Kalus P (1989) Alzheimer's disease: areal and laminar pathology in the occipital isocortex. Acta Neuropathol 77: 494–506
Brun A, Englund E (1981) Regional pattern of degeneration in Alzheimer's disease: neuronal loss and histopathological grading. Histopathology 5:549–564
Brun A, Englund E (1986) A white matter disorder in dementia of the Alzheimer type: a pathoanatomical study. Ann Neurol 19:253–262
Buey PC (1949) The precentral motor cortex. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, pp 1–615
Byrd LD, Smith AD, Marr MJ, Smith ST, Leith NJ, Haigler HJ (1986) Assessing the effects of age on memory in the rhesus monkey. Primate Rep 14:132–133
Campbell SK, Switzer RC, Martin TL (1987) Alzheimer's plaques and tangles: a controlled and enhanced silver staining method. Soc Neurosci Abs 13:678
Englund E, Brun A (1981) Senile dementia: a structural basis for etiological and therapeutic consideration. In: Perris C, Struwe G, Jansson B (eds) Biological psychiatry. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 951–956
Frackowiak RSJ, Pozzilli NJ, Legg GH, DuBoulay J, Marshall J, Lenzi GL, Jones T (1981) Regional cerebral oxygen supply and utilization in dementia: a clinical and physiological study with oxygen-15 and positron tomography. Brain 104:753–778
Frackowiak RSJ, Pozzilli NJ, Legg GH, DuBoulay J, Marshall J, Lenzi GL, Jones T (1981) A prospective study of regional cerebral blood flow and oxygen utilization in dementia using positron emission tomography and oxygen-15. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 1:453–454
Friedland RP, Budinger TF, Ganz E, Yano Y, Mathis CA, Koss B, Ober BA, Huesman RH, Derenzo SE (1983) Regional cerebral metabolic alterations in dementia of the Alzheimer type: positron emission tomography with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose. J Comput Assist Tomogr 7:590–598
Galaburda AM, Pandya DN (1983) The intrinsic architectonic and connectional organization of the superior temporal region of the rhesus monkey. J Comp Neurol 221:169–184
Gallyas F, Wolf JR (1986) metal-catalyzed oxidation renders silver intensification selective. J Histochem Cytochem 34: 1667–1672
Goodman L (1953) Alzheimer's disease: a clinicopathological analysis of 23 cases with a theory on pathogenesis. J Nerve Ment Dis 118:97–130
Hooper MW, Vogel FS (1976) The limbic system in Alzheimer's disease. Am J Pathol 85:1–13
Kachaturian ZS (1985) Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. Arch Neurol 42:1097–1105
Karnovsky MJ (1965) A formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde fixative of high osmolarity for use in electron microscopy. J Cell Biot 27:137A
Kemper T (1984) Neuroanatomics and neuropathological changer in normal aging and in dementia. In: Albert ML (ed) Clinical neurology of aging. Oxford, New York, pp 9–52
Lewis DA, Campbell MJ, Terry RD, Morrison JH (1987) Laminar and regional distribution of neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques in Alzheimer's disease: a quantitative study of visual and auditory cortices. J Neurosci 7:1799–1808
Matsuyama H, Nakamura S (1978) Senile changes in the brain in the Japanese: incidence of Alzheimer's neurofibrillary change and senile plaques. In: Katzman R, Terry RD, Blick KL (eds) Alzheimer's disease: senile dementia and related disorders, vol 7. Raven Press, New York, pp 287–297
Moss MB, Rosene DL, Peters A (1988) Effects of aging on visual recognition memory in the rhesus monkey. Neurobiol Aging 9:495–502
Mutrux S (1947) Diagnostic differential histologique de la maladie d'Alzheimer et de la demence senile: pathophobie de la zone de projection corticale. Monatsschr Psychiat Neurol 113:100–107
Pandya DN, Seltzer B (1982) Intrinsic connections and architectonics of posterior parietal cortex in the rhesus monkey. J Comp Neurol 204:196–210
Price DL, Whitehouse PJ, Struble RG, Price DJ, Cork LC, Hedreen JC, Kitt CA (1983) Basal forebrain cholinergic neurons and neuritic plaques in primate brain. In: Katzman R (ed) Biological aspects of Alzheimer's disease. Cold Springer Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, pp 65–78
Riege WH, Metter EJ (1988) Cognitive and brain imaging measures of Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 9:69–86
Rosene DL, Roy NJ, Davis BJ (1986) A cryoprotection method that facilitates cutting frozen sections of whole monkey brains for histological and histochemical processing without freezing artifact. J Histochem Cytochem 34:1301–1315
Seltzer B, Pandya DN (1978) Afferent cortical connections and architectonics of the superior temporal sulcus and surrounding cortex in the rhesus monkey. Brain Res 149:1–24
Struble RG, Price DL, Cork LC, Price DL (1985) Senile plaques in cortex of aged normal monkeys. Brain Res 361:267–275
Walker AE (1940) A cytoarchitectural study of the prefrontal area of the macaque monkey. J Comp Neurol 73:59–86
Walker LC, Kitt CA, Schwam E, Buckwald B, Garcia F, Sepinwall J, Price DL (1987) Senile plaques in aged squirrel monkeys. Neurobiol Aging 8:291–296
Wisniewski HM, Terry RD (1973) Morphology of the aging brain, human and animal. Prog Brain Res 40:167–186
Yamada M, Mehraein P (1968) Verteilungsmuster der senilen Veränderungen im Gehirn. Die Beteiligung des limbischen Prozesses des Senium und bei Morbus Alzheimer. Arch Psychiatr Neurol 211:308–324
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Heilbroner, P.L., Kemper, T.L. The cytoarchitectonic distribution of senile plaques in three aged monkeys. Acta Neuropathol 81, 60–65 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00662638
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00662638