Summary
A comparative study of serotonergic innervation on motoneurons in the brainstem of various mammals (mouse, rat, guinea pig, dog, cat and monkey) was carried out using a sensitive immunohistochemical method. Except for the extraocular muscle nuclei, the motor nuclei of the cranial nerves received rich inputs from serotonin neurons, in all species examined — rodent, carnivore and primate. The motoneurons of the monkey were innervated by varicose serotonin fibers, in a manner different from that of other species, i.e. their cell bodies and proximal dendrites were tightly encircled by a large number of serotonin-containing varicose fibers. At the ultrastructural level, a predominant population of axosomatic contacts was confirmed in the cranial motor nuclei of the monkey, particularly in the nucleus ambiguus.
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Takeuchi, Y., Kojima, M., Matsuura, T. et al. Serotonergic innervation on the motoneurons in the mammalian brainstem. Anat Embryol 167, 321–333 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00315670
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00315670