Dendritic morphology of pyramidal neurones of the visual cortex of the rat: I. Branching patterns

The aim of this study was to provide quantitative descriptions of the branching patterns of basal and apical dendrites of pyramidal neurones from the visual cortex of the rat. Thirty‐nine neurones from cortical layers 2/3 and 5, that had been injected with horseradish peroxidase, reconstructed, and measured with the light microscope as part of an earlier study (Larkman and Mason, '90; J. Neurosci. 10:1407–1414), were used. The cells had previously been divided into three classes, layer 2/3 cells and thick and slender layer 5 cells, on the basis of their dendritic morphology.