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The diversity of secretory neurones in the brain of Nereis

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Summary

  1. 1.

    A histological and ultrastructural survey of the supraoesophageal ganglion of Nereis diversicolor was made.

  2. 2.

    An inclusion resembling glycogen in ultrastructure is abundant in the perineurium, glia and neurones in the immature animal. These structures are largely devoid of glycogen in the mature animal.

  3. 3.

    Nuclei IV–XVIII, XX, XXIII–XXV include some cells containing a wide variety of vesicles and elementary granules, though other cells do not contain significant accumulations of such inclusions. A description of these inclusions is given.

  4. 4.

    Most of the cells of nucleus XIXS are packed with very electron-dense granules. There are two types of cell containing granules of a mean diameter of approximately 1250 Å and 1000 Å, respectively.

  5. 5.

    Many of the cells of nucleus XXII contain ergastoplasmic vacuoles, besides electrondense granules of a mean diamter of 1200 Å.

  6. 6.

    Many of the granular and vesicular inclusions may be related to synaptic transmission. However, some cells are clearly neurosecretory in so far as their axons proceed to the neurohaemal area and/or terminate in the infracerebral gland (cf. Knowles and Bern, 1966).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, University of Bristol, England

    David W. Golding

  2. Department of Zoology and its Cancer Research Genetics Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA

    David W. Golding

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  1. David W. Golding
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Additional information

This investigation was supported in part by a fellowship of the Science Research Council, U. K., and by grant GB-2484 from the National Science Foundation to Professor Howard A. Bern. The author would like to thank Dr. Karl Lederis for his help and encouragement; Professor Howard A. Bern for his invaluable advice with respect to the preparation of this paper; and Professor H. Heller in whose department part of this work was carried out. I am also indebted to Mr. John Underhill for photographic assistance.

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Golding, D.W. The diversity of secretory neurones in the brain of Nereis . Zeitschrift für Zellforschung 82, 321–344 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00323858

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