Summary
Subsequent to intracellular injections of horseradish peroxidase, the Purkinje cell axon collateral plexus in the cat has been examined in order to identify the cytological features of the axon terminals and their postsynaptic relationships. The collateral branches were drawn prior to thin sectioning and examination with a transmission electron microscope. Ultrastructural analysis of horseradish peroxidase-labelled processes revealed that: 1. axon collaterals of Purkinje cells synapse with the cell body and dendrites of adjacent Purkinje cells, granule cells and interneurons in the lower molecular layer; 2. collaterals from more than one Purkinje cell converge on Purkinje cells and granule cells; 3. collaterals make multiple contacts on the dendritic shafts of cerebellar interneurons; and 4. Purkinje cells form synaptic complexes with their own dendrites. These results provide the first descriptive account of the synaptic features of Purkinje cell axon collaterals based on an experimental method.
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King, J.S., Bishop, G.A. The synaptic features of horseradish peroxidase-labelled recurrent collaterals in the ganglionic plexus of the cat cerebeliar cortex. J Neurocytol 11, 867–880 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01148305
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01148305