Catecholamine cell groups innervating infant rat somatosensory cortex.
HRP was injected into somatosensory cortex of rats 2-8 days of age. In locus coeruleus, ipsilateral to the injection, neuronal somata were retrogradely labeled. A few neurons located in the region of cranial nerve VII, ipsilaterally, were also labeled and may represent neurons from cell group A5. No other cell groups in mid- and hindbrain contain labeled cells. The labeled cell bodies are likely to represent a major source of brainstem afferents to infant neocortex, demonstrated by other workers. Since these cell bodies are located amidst known catecholaminergic neurons, it is proposed that these neurons give rise to the monoaminergic (MA) pre-synaptic cortical inputs that have been described using ultrastructural cytochemical techniques.
D000818:Animals; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000502:physiology*; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D006892:Hydroxydopamines / Q000494:pharmacology; D008125:Locus Coeruleus / Q000502:physiology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D011149:Pons / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*
D002395:Catecholamines; D006892:Hydroxydopamines; C027802:5-hydroxydopamine