Abstract

The present study explored the morphological features of multipolar neurons in the lateral cortical area of the telencephalon of a catfish, Clarias batrachus, employing Golgi staining. In C. batrachus, the multipolar neurons have round to multiangular soma with axon emerged adjacent to either basal or apical dendrites. Branched apical and basal dendrites are of various thicknesses with few dendritic spines on them. Multipolar neurons have shown uniform distribution in both the center and toward the boundary of the lateral cortical area. The morphological features and position suggest that the role of this neuronal type in maintaining the local circuit as well as in transmitting information acting as projection neurons to the adjacent telencephalic region.

Key words: Multipolar neuron, Lateral cortical area, Telencephalon, Clarias batrachus, Golgi staining, Dendrite, Dendritic spine