Dopamine Neurons in the Ventral Tegmental Area: An Autopsy Case of Disorganized Type of Schizophrenia
Figure 1
An image synthesized by AxioVision from a 50 μm thick TH-stained section of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of a 75-year-old female patient with disorganized type of schizophrenia from a pathological autopsy. TH-ir fibers were magnifies in (b)/(a,b) TH-ir neuronal cell bodies have irregular shape, including multipolar-, triangular- or oval-shaped, and various size (6–24 μm in diameter) (Figure 1(a)). The stainability varies between the neuronal cell bodies. TH-ir neuronal processes had irregular thickness (Figure 1(a)), curved shape having many corners (Figure 1(a)), straightened (Figure 1(b)), or are composed of fiber bundles (Figure 1(b)). These morphological findings of TH-ir neurons in the VTA were also seen in the substantia nigra of schizophrenia (not shown). Bars: Figure 1(a): 25 μm, Figure 1(b): 12.5 μm.
