Abstract
Neuronal morphology is a key to the development and proper functioning of the central nervous system (CNS). Inadequate morphological development within the CNS would lead to various neurological deficits. This study sought to examine the effect of a specific genetic alternation on the postnatal development of the morphology of the mouse somatosensory cortex, which is a well-characterized brain region for morphological study and is also known as the barrel cortex. The gene of interest, Rem2, is a small GTPase known to regulate visual cortex morphology as well as neuronal intrinsic excitability in vivo and in vitro. It has also been shown to maintain proper dendritic polarity within the barrel hollows of the mouse visual cortex. To further investigate the role of Rem2 in the development of mouse barrel cortex, the study adopted histological staining using Cytochrome C Oxidase as a gross morphology and a neuronal activity marker. By examining young constitutive Rem2 knock-out mice at different ages, this study was able to identify declining trend of neural activity in the knock-out animals at a later stage of development. Though significant differences in morphology and activity were not observed at either experimental age, the results still demonstrated that Rem2 may have a crucial, time-sensitive role in the development of the barrel cortex and that its role may be compensated by alternative mechanisms in the constitutive Rem2 null mouse model.