水平性前庭動眼反射に関与するネコ脳幹ニューロン群の形態学的解析

抄録

The morphology of five kinds of horizontal vestibulo-ocular refrex-related brainstem neurons (Vestibular type I neuron, Abducens motoneuron, Abducens internuclear neuron, Reticular burst neuron, Omnipause neuron) in cats was investigated by intracellular staining with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and threedimensional reconstruction of the cell bodies. Each neuron in and around the abducens nucleus was penetrated by glass micropipette for recording and identifying by their characteristic firing pattern during nystagmus and by their pattern of response to stimulation of the vestibular nerves. HRP was injected into the cell bodies or axons of these electro-physiologically identified neurons. After appropriate tissue preparation, cell body and axonal reconstructions were performed with the aid of a camera lucida equipped microscope.
In this study 17 cell bodies were stained and reconstructed perfectly. The morphological characteristics, for example the diameter of the cell bodies, the number of primary dendrites and terminal dendrites, etc. in each neuron were compared with the previous descriptions done mainly by the Golgi method.