EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX IN THE RAT

cerebral cortex structure in the Long Ewans rat following single or fractioned irradiation with 1500 rad of x-ray or Co/sup 60/ gamma rays localized on the animal skull. The observations were performed on animals sacrificed immediately or some hours to some months (7 months) after the irradiation and could establish that the cytological modifications of Purkinje's cells, the reduction of Purkinje's cells amount in the cerebellar laminae, and the decrease of the thickness of the molecular layer and the granular layer are all strictly related to the x or Co/sup 60/ gamma irradiation. The authors study these aspects and discuss their significance. (auth)