Morphological taxonomy of the neurons of the primate striatum

A quantitative taxonomy of primate striatal neurons was elaborated on the basis of the morphology of Golgi‐impregnated neurons. Dendritic arborizations were reconstructed from serial sections and digitized in three dimensions by means of a video computer system. Topological, metrical, and geometrical parameters were measured for each neuron. Groups of neurons were isolated by using uni‐ and multidimensional statistical tests. A neuronal species was defined as a group of neurons characterized, quantitatively by a series of nonredundant parameters, differing statistically from other groups, and appearing as a separate cluster in principal component analysis. Four neuronal species were isolated: (1) the spiny neuronal species (96% of striatal neurons) characterized by spine‐free proximal dendrites (up to 31 μm) and spine‐laden distal dendrites, which are more numerous, shorter, and less spiny in the human than in the monkey, (2) the leptodendritic neuronal species (2%) characterized by a small number of long, thick, smooth, and sparsely ramified dendrites, (3) the spidery neuronal species (1%) characterized by very thick dendritic stems and a large number of varicose recurrent distal processes, and (4) the microneuronal species (1%) characterized by numerous short, thin, and beaded axonlike processes. All striatal neurons give off a local axonal arborization.

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