Summary
The cytoarchitecture of the feline oculomotor nucleus was examined in sections stained with thionin and neutral red. Five different subdivisions (caudal central, paramedian, ventral, dorsomedial and dorsolateral divisions) can be identified on each side of the midline. This observation is discussed, and our findings are compared to previous studies of the cytoarchitecture or central muscular representation of the oculomotor nucleus in which different subgroups have been distinguished. Implants or injections of the wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase complex have revealed that all five subdivisions project to different parts of the cerebellar cortex and nuclei. Retrogradely labelled cells were found in the oculomotor nucleus in 18 cases following deposition of tracer in the fastigial and interposed nuclei and certain regions of the anterior, posterior and flocculonodular lobes. The projection is bilateral and appears to have its main termination in flocculus. It originates from small neurons, especially from those located along the dorsal border of the oculomotor nucleus.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akagi Y (1978) The localization of the motor neurons innervating the extraocular muscles in the oculomotor nuclei of the cat and rabbit, using horseradish peroxidase. J Comp Neurol 181:745–762
Appenteng K, Girdlestone D (1987) Transneuronal transport of wheat germ agglutinin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase into trigeminal interneurones of the rat. J Comp Neurol 258:387–396
Broadwell RD, Balin BJ (1985) Endocytic and exocytic pathways of the neuronal secretory process and transsynaptic transfer of wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase in vivo. J Comp Neurol 242:632–650
Brodal A (1981) Neurological anatomy in relation to clinical medicine. Oxford University Press, New York London
Brodal A, Lacerda AM, Destombes J, Angaut P (1972) The pattern in the projection of the intracerebellar nuclei onto the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis in the cat. An experimental anatomical study. Exp Brain Res 16:140–160
Brodal P, Dietrichs E, Bjaalie JG, Nordby T, Walberg F (1983) Is lectin-coupled horseradish peroxidase taken up and transported by undamaged as well as by damaged fibers in the central nervous system? Brain Res 278:1–9
Brown JO (1943) The nuclear pattern of the non-tectal portions of the midbrain and isthmus in the dog and cat. J Comp Neurol 78:365–405
Büttner U, Boyle R, Markert G (1986) Cerebellar control of eye movements. Prog Brain Res 64:225–234
Carpenter MB, Strominger NL (1964) Cerebello-oculomotor fibers in the rhesus monkey. J Comp Neurol 123:211–230
Corvaja N, Grofová I, Pompeiano O, Walberg F (1977) The lateral reticular nucleus in the cat — I. An experimental anatomical study of its spinal and supraspinal afferent connections. Neuroscience 2:537–553
Dietrichs E, Walberg F (1979) The cerebellar projection from the lateral reticular nucleus as studied with retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. Anat Embryol 155:273–290
Dietrichs E, Walberg F (1983) Cerebellar cortical afferents from the red nucleus in the cat. Exp Brain Res 50:353–358
Dietrichs E, Walberg F (1987) Cerebellar nuclear afferents — where do they originate? A re-evaluation of the projections from some lower brain stem nuclei. Anat Embryol 177:165–172
Dietrichs E, Walberg F, Nordby T (1985) The cerebellar nucleo-olivary and olivo-cerebellar nuclear projections in the cat as studied with anterograde and retrograde transport in the same animal after implantation of crystalline WGA-HRP. I. The dentate nucleus. Neurosci Res 3:52–70
Evinger C, Graf WM, Baker R (1987) Extra-and intracellular HRP analysis of the organization of extraocular motoneurons and internuclear neurons in the guinea pig and rabbit. J Comp Neurol 262:429–445
Gacek RR (1974) Localization of neurons supplying the extraocular muscles in the kitten using horseradish peroxidase. Exp Neurol 44:381–403
Gibson AR, Hansma DI, Houk JC, Robinson FR (1984) A sensitive low artifact TMB procedure for the demonstration of WGA-HRP in the CNS. Brain Res 298:235–241
Gonatas NK, Harper C, Mizutani T, Gonatas JO (1979) Superior sensitivity of conjugates of horseradish peroxidase with wheat germ agglutinin for studies of retrograde axonal transport. J Histochem Cytochem 27:728–734
Gould BB (1980) Organization of afferents from the brain stem nuclei to the cerebellar cortex in the cat. Adv Anat Embryol Cell Biol 62:1–90
Graham RC, Karnovsky MJ (1966) The early stages of absorption of injected horseradish peroxidase in the proximal tubule of mouse kidney: Ultrastructural cytochemistry by a new technique. J Histochem Cytochem 14:291–302
Graybiel AM (1977) Organization of oculomotor pathways in the cat and rhesus monkey. Dev Neurosci 1:79–88
Harrison PJ, Hultborn H, Jankowska E, Katz R, Storai B, Zytnicki D (1984) Labelling of interneurons by retrograde transsynaptic transport of horseradish peroxidase from motoneurons in rats and cats. Neurosci Lett 45:15–19
Hoddevik GH (1978) The projection from nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis onto the cerebellum in the cat. A study using the methods of anterograde degeneration and retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase. Anat Embryol 153:227–242
Ito M (1984) The cerebellum and neural control. Raven Press, New York
Kotchabhakdi N, Walberg F (1977) Cerebellar afferents from neurons in motor nuclei of cranial nerves demonstrated by retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase. Brain Res 137:158–163
Kotchabhakdi N, Hoddevik GH, Walberg F (1978) Cerebellar afferent projections from the perihypoglossal nuclei: An experimental study with the method of retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase. Exp Brain Res 31:13–29
Kristensson K, Olsson Y (1971) Retrograde axonal transport of protein. Brain Res 29:363–365
La Vail JH, La Vail MM (1972) Retrograde axonal transport in the central nervous system. Science 176:1416–1417
Larsell O (1970) The comparative anatomy and histology of the cerebellum from monotremes through apes. Jansen J (ed) University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis
Le Gros Clark WE (1926) The mammalian oculomotor nucleus. J Anat 60:426–448
Maciewicz R, Phipps BS (1983) The oculomotor internuclear pathway: A double retrograde labeling study. Brain Res 262:1–8
Maciewicz RJ, Kaneko CRS, Highstein SM, Baker R (1975) Morphophysiological identification of interneurons in the oculomotor nucleus that project to the abducens nucleus in the cat. Brain Res 96:60–65
Maciewicz RJ, Romagnano MA, Baker R, Highstein SM (1977) Two projections of the oculomotor internuclear neurons. Anat Rec 187:642–643
Maciewicz R, Phipps BS, Foote WE, Aronin N, DiFiglia M (1983) The distribution of substance P-containing neurons in the cat Edinger-Westphal nucleus: Relationship to efferent projection systems. Brain Res 270:217–230
McCrea RA, Baker R (1985) Anatomical connections of the nucleus prepositus of the cat. J Comp Neurol 237:377–407
Mesulam M-M (1978) Tetramethyl benzidine for horseradish peroxidase neurohistochemistry: A non-carcinogenic blue reaction-product with superior sensitivity for visualizing neuronal afferents and efferents. J Histochem Cytochem 26:106–117
Mesulam M-M (1982) Principles of horseradish peroxidase neurohistochemistry and their applications for tracing neural pathways-axonal transport, enzyme histochemistry and light microscopic analysis. In: Mesulam M-M (ed) Tracing neural connections with horseradish peroxidase, pp 1–151, John Wiley, Chichester
Miyazaki S (1985) Location of motoneurons in the oculomotor nucleus and the course of their axons in the oculomotor nerve. Brain Res 348:57–63
Mori J, Hori N, Katsuda N (1981) A new method for application of horseradish peroxidase into a restricted area of the brain. Brain Res Bull 6:19–22
Niimi H, Fujiwara N, Takimoto T, Matsugi S (1962) The course and termination of the ascending fibers of the brachium conjunctivum in the cat as studied by the Nauta method. Tokushima J Exp Med 8:269–284
Perlia H (1889) Die Anatomie des Oculomotorius beim Menschen. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 35:287–308
Porter JD, Guthrie BL, Sparks DL (1985) Selective retrograde transneuronal transport of wheat germ agglutinin-conjugated horseradish peroxidase in the oculomotor system. Exp Brain Res 57:411–416
Pugh WW, Kalia M (1982) Differential uptake of peroxidase (HRP) and peroxidase-lectine (HRP-WGA) conjugate injected in the nodose ganglion of the cat. J Histochem Cytochem 30:887–894
Qvist H (1987) Afferents to the lateral reticular nucleus from the oculomotor region. II. The oculomotor nucleus, the interstitial nucleus of Cajal and the nucleus of the posterior commissure. Anat Embryol 177:277–283
Saint-Cyr JA (1983) The projection from the motor cortex to the inferior olive in the cat. An experimental study using axonal transport techniques. Neuroscience 10:667–684
Steiger H-J, Büttner-Ennever JA (1979) Oculomotor nucleus afferents in the monkey demonstrated with horseradish peroxidase. Brain Res 160:1–15
Taber E (1961) The cytoarchitecture of the brain stem of the cat. J Comp Neurol 116:27–70
Takada M, Hattori T (1986) Transneuronal transport of WGA-HRP from the ipsi-to the contralateral medial habenular nucleus through the interpeduncular nucleus in the rat. Brain Res 384:77–83
Tarlov E, Tarlov SR (1971) The representation of extraocular muscles in the oculomotor nuclei: Experimental studies in the cat. Brain Res 34:37–52
Tsuchida U (1906) Über die Ursprungskerne der Augenbewegungs-nerven und über die mit diesen in Beziehung stehenden Bahnen im Mittel-und Zwischenhirn. Normal-anatomische, embryologische, pathologisch-anatomische und vergleichend-anatomische Untersuchungen. Hirnanat Inst Zürich 2:1–205
Walberg F, Nordby T, Dietrichs E (1987) The olivonodular projection: A re-examination based on folial cerebellar implants. Neurosci Lett 81:82–88
Wan X-C, Trojanowski JQ, Gonatas JO (1982) Cholera toxin and wheat germ agglutinin conjugates as neuroanatomical probes: Their uptake and clearance, transganglionic and retrograde transport and sensitivity. Brain Res 243:215–224
Warwick R (1953) Representation of the extra-ocular muscles in the oculomotor nuclei of the monkey. J Comp Neurol 98:449–504
Yingcharoen K, Rinvik E (1982) Branched projections from the nucleus prepositus hypoglossi to the oculomotor nucleus and the cerebellum. A retrograde fluorescent double-labeling study in the cat. Brain Res 246:133–136
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Røste, G.K., Dietrichs, E. The feline oculomotor nucleus: morphological subdivisions and projection to the cerebellar cortex and nuclei. Anat Embryol 178, 67–75 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00305016
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00305016