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Human Neocortex Layer Features Evaluated by PIXE, STIM, and STXM Techniques

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Abstract

The human neocortex has a cytoarchitecture composed of six layers with an intrinsic organization that relates to afferent and efferent pathways for a high functional specialization. Various histological, neurochemical, and connectional techniques have been used to study these cortical layers. Here, we explore the additional possibilities of swift ion beam and synchrotron radiation techniques to distinguish cellular layers based on the elemental distributions and areal density pattern in the human neocortex. Temporal cortex samples were obtained from two neurologically normal adult men (postmortem interval: 6–12 h). A cortical area of 500 × 500 μm2 was scanned by a 3 MeV proton beam for elemental composition and areal density measurements using particle induced x-ray emission (PIXE) and scanning transmission ion microscopy (STIM), respectively. Zinc showed higher values in cortical layers II and V, which needs a critical discussion. Furthermore, the areal density decreased in regions with a higher density of pyramidal neurons in layers III and V. Scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) revealed the cellular density with higher lateral resolution than STIM, but not enough to distinguish each cortical lamination border. Our data describe the practical results of these approaches employing both X-ray and ion-beam based techniques for the human cerebral cortex and its heterogeneous layers. These results add to the potential approaches and knowledge of the human neocortical gray matter in normal tissue to develop improvements and address further studies on pathological conditions.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to the conditions and rules of work of the laboratories where the samples were analyzed but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Gabriela Sena (UERJ, Brazil), Dr. Anja Kavčič (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia), and Mrs. Carla Calligaro (University of Udine, Italy) for the support during sample preparation for STXM and microPIXE.

Funding

To perform the research reported in this manuscript, Paulo Jobim received a Brazilian CNPq post-doctoral grant (# 150037/2017–1) and Carla dos Santos a CAPES fellowship grant (# POS-DOC 88881.119418/2016–01). Work at JSI was supported by the ARRS Grants J7-9398, N1-0090, P1-0112, I0-0005 and EU H2020 Project No. 824096 “RADIATE”.

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Author notes

  1. Paulo Fernandes Costa Jobim, Carla Eliete Iochims dos Santos, and Johnny Ferraz Dias contributed equally to the present work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Basic Sciences/Physiology, Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Paulo Fernandes Costa Jobim & Alberto Antônio Rasia-Filho

  2. Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Federal University of Rio Grande, Santo Antônio da Patrulha, RS, Brazil

    Carla Eliete Iochims dos Santos

  3. Ion Implantation Laboratory, Physics Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande Do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Johnny Ferraz Dias

  4. Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Mitja Kelemen, Primož Pelicon & Katarina Vogel Mikuš

  5. Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Katarina Vogel Mikuš

  6. Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy

    Lorella Pascolo

  7. Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste, Area Science Park, Basovizza, Trieste, Italy

    Alessandra Gianoncelli & Diana Eva Bedolla

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  1. Paulo Fernandes Costa Jobim
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Contributions

All the authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, measurements, data collection and analysis, and manuscript preparation were performed by Paulo Fernandes Costa Jobim and Carla Eliete Iochims dos Santos; Alberto Antônio Rasia-Filho performed the sample collection and collaborated in the data analysis and manuscript preparation; Johnny Ferraz Dias contributed to the measurements, data analysis, and manuscript; Mitja Kelemen, Primož Pelicon, Katarina Vogel Mikuš, Lorella Pascolo, Alessandra Gianoncelli, and Diana Eva Bedolla contributed to the sample preparation, measurements, and data analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Paulo Fernandes Costa Jobim and all the authors commented on the previous versions of the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Paulo Fernandes Costa Jobim or Alberto Antônio Rasia-Filho.

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Ethics Approval

This study followed the ethical procedures in accordance with international regulatory standards (based on the 1964 Helsinki Declaration) and were approved by the Ethics Committees of the Federal University of Health Sciences of Porto Alegre (Brazil; “Plataforma Brasil” process # 62381916.9.0000.5345/2018), and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil; “Plataforma Brasil” process # 62381916.9.3001.5347/2017).

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The next of kin provided written informed consent for brain donation and for use in this kind of study. Informed consent and general clinical data on known comorbidities were obtained from the next of kin at the morgue.

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There is no potentially identifiable data for any individual included in this article.

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Jobim, P.F.C., Iochims dos Santos, C.E., Dias, J.F. et al. Human Neocortex Layer Features Evaluated by PIXE, STIM, and STXM Techniques. Biol Trace Elem Res 201, 592–602 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-022-03182-x

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