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Light and electron microscopic autoradiography of substantia nigra of rat after intraventricular administration of tritium labelled norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin and the precursors

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Summary

In autoradiographies of substantia nigra in rat, it has been observed that after intraventricular injections of 3H-dopamine and 3H-norepinephrine respectively the silvergrains are accumulated in nigra neurons and their dendritic branches. The incorporation was more pronounced in the case of 3H-norepinephrine than 3H-dopamine. This seems to indicate that exogenous norepinephrine may have stronger affinity to nigra neurons and their dendrites than exogenous dopamine. In addition, some 3H-dopamine and 3H-norepinephrine labelled nerve terminals were observed in axo-dendritic synapses. In contrast to these data, 3H-5HTP and 3H-5HT administration showed almost all silver grains accumulated in the neuropil when observed in light microscopic autoradiography. Electron micrographs further reveal that the incorporation of 3H-5HTP and 3H-5HT was mostly within axo-dendritic boutons with more frequent dense core vesicles. These data again strongly suggest that substantia nigra receives a large number of serotoninergic fibres forming axo-dendritic synapses which may play an important role in modulation of substantia nigra function.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neurobiologische Abteilung, Max-Planck-Institut für Hirnforschung, Frankfurt a. M., Deutschland

    J. Parizek, R. Hassler & I. J. Bak

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  1. J. Parizek
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  2. R. Hassler
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  3. I. J. Bak
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Dr. Parizek was on leave of absence from the Charles University, Faculty of Medicine, Hradec Králové, Czechoslovakia.

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Parizek, J., Hassler, R. & Bak, I.J. Light and electron microscopic autoradiography of substantia nigra of rat after intraventricular administration of tritium labelled norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin and the precursors. Z. Zellforsch. 115, 137–148 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330222

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00330222

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