Ultrastructure and retinal innervation of deafferentation-induced enkephalin-immunoreactive elements in the superficial layers of the rat superior colliculus.
Leu-enkephalin-like immunoreactive (ENK-I) elements appearing in the superficial layers of the rat superior colliculus (SC) after eye-enucleation were examined by means of immunoelectronmicroscopy. ENK-I somata were of a single type and formed symmetric and asymmetric synapses with non-immunoreactive axon terminals. Some degenerating retinal terminals made synaptic contacts only with small ENK-I dendrites, suggesting that deafferentation-induced ENK-I neurons in the rat SC receive retinal input onto the distal portions of their dendrites.
Department of Anatomy II, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
J J
JJ
Miguel-Hidalgo
E
E
Senba
K
K
Takatsuji
M
M
Tohyama
D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004743:Enkephalin, Leucine / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D051381:Rats; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology*; D013477:Superior Colliculi / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure
D004743:Enkephalin, Leucine