Cytoarchitecture

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Cytoarchitecture is the cellular composition of a bodily structure.

In biology, it refers to the arrangement of cells in a tissue, and in neuroscience it refers specifically to the arrangement of neuronal soma (biology) (cell bodies) in the brain.

In common neuroanatomical parlance, the term "cytoarchitecture" (or "cytoarchitectonic") refers to the use of a common Nissl staining technique (named for Franz Nissl the neuroscientist and histologist who originated the technique), using common agents such as thionin, cresyl violet, or neutral red. These dyes intensely stain "Nissl bodies" (rough endoplasmic reticulum), which are abundant in neurons and reveal specific patterns of cytoarchitecture in the brain. Other common staining techniques used by histologists in other tissues (such as the hematoxylin and eosin or "H&E" stain) leave brain tissue appearing largely homogenous and do not reveal the level of organization apparent in a Nissl stain. Nissl staining reveals details ranging from the macroscopic, such as the laminar pattern of the cerebral cortex or the interlocking nuclear patterns of the diencephalon and brainsetm, to the microscopic, such as the distinctions between individual neurons and glia in any subregion of the central nervous system. Many other neuroanatomic and cytoarchitectonic techniques are available to supplement Nissl cytoarchitectonics, including immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, which allow one to label any gene or protein expressed in any group of cells in the brain. However, Nissl cytoarchitecture remains a reliable, inexpensive, and familiar starting or reference point for neuroscientists wishing to examine or communicate their findings in a widely recognized anatomical framework and/or in reference to neuroanatomical atlases which use the same technique.

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