title: Distribution of oxytocin-like and vasopressin-like immunoreactivities within the central nervous system of the cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis.
abstract: We have investigated the distribution of oxytocin/vasopressin (OT/VP) superfamily peptides in the central nervous system (CNS) of the cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, by using antibodies raised against mammalian OT and VP. Several populations of OT-like and VP-like immunoreactive cell bodies and fibers were widely distributed in cerebral structures involved in learning processes (vertical lobe complex, optic lobes), behavioral communication (peduncle, lateral basal and chromatophore lobes), feeding behavior (inferior frontal, brachial and buccal lobes), sexual activity (dorsal basal, subpedunculate, olfactory lobes), and metabolism (visceral lobes). The two most remarkable findings of this study were the occurrence of OT-like immunoreactivity in many amacrine cells of the vertical lobe and the dense accumulation of VP-like immunoreactive cell bodies in the subpedunculate 1 lobe. No double-immunolabeled cell bodies or fibers were found in any lobes of the CNS, indicating, for the first time in a decapod cephalopod mollusc, the existence of distinct oxytocinergic-like and vasopressinergic-like systems. The widespread distribution of the immunoreactive neurons suggests that these OT-like and VP-like peptides act as neurotransmitters or neuromodulators.
authors.affiliation: GMPc, Groupe Mémoire et Plasticité Comportementale, EA 4259, University of Caen Basse-Normandie, Caen, France.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bardou
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maubert
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leprince
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chichery
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cocquerelle
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Launay
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vivien
authors.forename: Hubert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vaudry
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Agin
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000378:metabolism; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D049833:Sepia / Q000378:metabolism*; D014667:Vasopressins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D014667:Vasopressins; D010121:Oxytocin