Modified Nauta and Fink-Heimer procedures with special reference to the demonstration of monoaminergic pathways in the central nervous system.
Modifications of the selective silver impregnation methods of Nauta and Fink-Heimer are described. Both procedures were tested in wide variety of species: from reptiles to carnivores, as well as in human autoptic cases. The modified Nauta procedure is recommended as a method of choice for tracing axonal trajectories due to an improved impregnation selectivity of the degenerating axoplasm. Its use for the demonstration of monoaminergic (NA, DA, 5-HT) pathways, however, remains limited. The modified Fink-Heimer procedure demonstrates successfully the degeneration of axons, and especially--the thin preterminal arborizations, as well as the terminal boutons in many fiber systems studied, including the nigrostriatal, raphe-nigral, and coerulocortical tracts. Both methods provide an additional cytoarchitectonic orientation due to a counterstain of nerve cell bodies with cresylechtviolett.
D000818:Animals; D001679:Biogenic Amines / Q000502:physiology*; D002415:Cats; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005724:Ganglia / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006801:Humans; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D012834:Silver; D013194:Staining and Labeling
D001679:Biogenic Amines; D012834:Silver