TY - JOUR T1 - Neurogenesis in the Caudate Nucleus of the Adult Rabbit JF - The Journal of Neuroscience JO - J. Neurosci. SP - 609 LP - 621 DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4371-05.2006 VL - 26 IS - 2 AU - Federico Luzzati AU - Silvia De Marchis AU - Aldo Fasolo AU - Paolo Peretto Y1 - 2006/01/11 UR - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/26/2/609.abstract N2 - Stem cells with the potential to give rise to new neurons reside in different regions of the adult rodents CNS, but in vivo only the hippocampal dentate gyrus and the subventricular zone-olfactory bulb system are neurogenic under physiological condition. Comparative analyses have shown that vast species differences exist in the way the mammalian brain is organized and in its neurogenic capacity. Accordingly, we have demonstrated recently that, in the adult rabbit brain, striking structural plasticity persists in several cortical and subcortical areas. Here, by using markers for immature and mature neuronal and glial cell types, endogenous and exogenously administered cell-proliferation markers, intraventricular cell tracer injections coupled to confocal analysis, three-dimensional reconstructions, and in vitro tissue cultures, we demonstrate the existence of newly formed neurons in the caudate nucleus of normal, untreated, adult rabbit. Our results suggest that neurogenesis in the caudate nucleus is a phenomenon independent from that occurring in the adjacent subventricular zone, mostly attributable to the activity of clusters of proliferating cells located within the parenchyma of this nucleus. These clusters originate chains of neuroblasts that ultimately differentiate into mature neurons, which represent only a small percentage of the total neuronal precursors. These results indicate that striatum of rabbit represents a favorable environment for genesis rather than survival of newly formed neurons. ER -