Regenerative capacity of the optic tectum in Lacerta viridis

Abstract

Regenerative capacity of the optic tectum in reptiles was studied in adults of Lacerta viridis kept for 24 hours at 4°C before extraction of a dorsomedial portion of the right optic tectum. Five months after surgery brain sections were prepared with standard autoradiographic techniques. From this investigation it emerged that five months after surgery, cell divisions in the brain were still very numerous, while in the lesioned area continuity of the ependyma had been regained. Above the ependyma in some areas, a zone of re-formed nervous tissue was present with clear signs of cell and fibre stratification. These observations strengthen the hypothesis of a connection between loss of regenerative capacity by the C.N.S. with installation of blood-brain barrier and, conversely, of the reinstating of such capacity after alteration of this barrier. © 1981, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.