Cell malpositioning has been described in laminated structures of the spontaneous mutation, reeler, including the cerebellum, the hippocampus, and the neocortex. Despite the ectopic positions of different neuronal populations, the specificity of synaptic connections is maintained. The metabolic consequences of this form of neuropathology were examined in Relnrl mutant mice by quantitative measures of cytochrome oxidase (CO) activity, a mitochondrial enzyme essential for oxidative metabolism in neurons. Despite severe tissue disorganization but in line with the intact synaptic organization, the reeler mutation did not affect global metabolic activity of the laminated structures of the brain. CO activity, however, was altered in specific subregions of the cerebellum, hippocampus, and neocortex, as well as in septum and various brainstem (medial pontine, paramedial reticular, paragigantocellular reticular) regions anatomically related to these structures, attesting to large functional alterations in Relnrl-orl brain. Metabolic activity variations were also detected in the ventral tegmental area and ventral neostriatum of the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway. The results are discussed and compared to the regional CO variations found in other ataxic mice, in regard to the structural defects, the integrity of the connections, and the mutation-specific effects.
