Somatotopic termination of the spino-olivary fibers in the cat, studied with the wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase technique.
Terminal sites of the spino-olivary fibers (SOFs) were examined by the anterograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase in the cat. The tracer was injected at various spinal cord levels from the first cervical to the caudal segments. The SOFs derived from the C1-T1 segments terminated medially in the caudal half (levels II-VIII of Brodal) of the medial accessory olive (MAO), which projects to the A zone of the cerebellar cortex, whereas the SOFs derived from the L6-S1 segments terminated laterally in the caudal half (levels I-VIII) of the MAO. No projections were found from the T2-L5 segments to the MAO. In the dorsal accessory olive (DAO), the SOFs terminated at levels III-XIV; the DAO projects to the B zone and the C1 and C3 zones of the cerebellar cortex. The SOFs derived from the C1-C4 segments terminated in the most medial part of the DAO (levels III-XIV), followed laterally by those from the C5-T1 segments. Further laterally, the SOFs derived from the T2-L5 and the L6-S1 segments terminated in the mediolateral order at levels V-XIV. The SOFs from the L6-S1 segments occupied the most lateral part of the DAO. The present study demonstrates that there is a distinct somatotopic termination of the SOFs in the mediolateral order in the caudal MAO and the DAO.
Matsushita
M
M
Department of Anatomy, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Yaginuma
H
H
Tanami
T
T
D000818:Animals; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase; D009411:Nerve Endings; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000502:physiology*; D009847:Olivary Nucleus / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D018998:Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugate; D014909:Wheat Germ Agglutinins
D018998:Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugate; D014909:Wheat Germ Agglutinins; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase