Summary
Extirpation of the superior cervical ganglion was performed in a series of Mongolian gerbils. One or two weeks after the ganglionectomy the animals were injected with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor. Subsequently perfusion fixation was performed using the glyoxylic acid-paraformal-dehydemagnesium method (Lorén et al., 1976) for fluorescence histochemical investigation of the monoamines of the pineal complex. In the ganglionectomized animals all of the blue-fluorescent sympathetic fibers in the pineal complex (superficial pineal gland, deep pineal gland and the pineal stalk) completely disappeared. The yellow indolamine fluorescence of the cells in the superficial pineal and the deep pineal, as well as in the pineal stalk, was markedly reduced after ganglionectomy. No change in the morphology or number of sympathetic fibers in the medial habenular nucleus was observed. These results indicate that the presence of sympathetic nerve fibers with perikarya in the superior cervical ganglion is necessary for maintaining a high indolamine content in all three parts of the pineal complex. In addition, the results also indicate that the deep pineal gland is a functional part of the pineal complex. The presence of a functionally active deep pineal, bordering the pineal recess, suggests that part of the pineal hormones might be secreted into the cerebrospinal fluid.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bertler, Å., Falck, B., Owman, Ch.: Studies on 5-hydroxytryptamine stores in pineal gland of the rat. Acta Physiol. Scand. 63, Suppl. 239, 1–18 (1964)
Björklund, A., Owman, Ch., West, K.A.: Peripheral sympathetic innervation and serotonin cells in the habenular region of the rat brain. Z. Zellforsch. 127, 570–579 (1972)
Hewing, M.: A liquor contacting area in the pineal recess of the golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus). Anat. Embryol. 153, 295–304 (1978)
Jaim-Etcheverry, G., Zieher, L.M.: Cytochemistry of 5-hydroxytryptamine at the electron microscope level. II. Localization in the autonomic nerves of the rat pineal gland. Z. Zellforsch. 86, 393–400 (1968)
Japha, J.L., Eder, T.J., Goldsmith, E.D.: Morphological and histochemical features of the gerbil pineal system. Anat. Rec. 178, 381–382 (1974)
Kappers, J.A.: The development, topographical relation and innervation of the epiphysis cerebri in the albino rat. Z. Zellforsch. 52, 163–215 (1960)
Loren, I., Björklund, A., Lindvall, O.: The catecholamine systems in the developing rat brain. Brain Res. 117, 313–318 (1976)
Møller, M., van Deurs, B., Westergaard, E.: Vascular permeability to proteins and peptides in the mouse pineal gland. Cell Tissue Res. 195, 1–15 (1978)
Moore, R.Y.: Indolamine metabolism in the intact and denervated pineal, pineal stalk and habenula. Neuroendocrinology 19, 323–330 (1975)
Nielsen, J.T., Møller, M.: Innervation of the pineal gland in the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus). A fluorescence microscopical study. Cell Tissue Res. 187, 235–250 (1978)
Owman, Ch.: New aspects of the mammalian pineal gland. Acta Physiol. Scand. 63, Suppl. 240, 1–40 (1964)
Reiter, R.J., Hedlund, L.: Peripheral sympathetic innervation of the deep pineal gland of the golden hamster. Experientia 32, 1071–1072 (1976)
Tilders, F.J.H., Ploem, J.S., Smelik, P.G.: Quantitative microfluorimetric studies on formaldehyde induced fluorescence of 5-hydroxytryptamine in the pineal gland of the rat. J. Histochem. Cytochem. 22, 967–975 (1974)
Trueman, T., Herbert, J.: Monoamines and acetyl-cholinesterase in the pineal gland and habenula of the ferret. Z. Zellforsch. 109, 83–100 (1970)
Veen, Th. van., Brackmann, M., Moghimzadeh, E.: Post-natal development of the pineal organ in the hamsters Phodopus sungorus and Mesocricetus auratus. Cell Tissue Res. 189, 241–250 (1978)
Vollrath, L., Diehl, B.J.M., Boeckmann, D.: The pineal complex in rats. J. Neural Transm., Suppl. 13, 403–404 (1978)
Wiklund, L.: Development of serotonin-containing cells and the sympathetic innervation of the habenular region in the rat brain. Cell Tissue Res. 155, 231–243 (1974)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This work was supported by the Carlsberg Foundation, the Swedish Natural Science Research Council, grant no. 2126-100, and the Danish Medical Research Council, grant no. 512-7134
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Møller, M., Nielsen, J.T. & van Veen, T. Effect of superior cervical ganglionectomy on monoamine content in the epithalamic area of the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus): A fluorescence histochemical study. Cell Tissue Res. 201, 1–9 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238042
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238042