Actual problems of the cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons

Anatomy and histology of the brain and sense organs of the antarctic plunderfish Dolloidraco longedorsalis (Perciformes: Notothenioidei: Artedidraconidae), with comments on the brain morphology of other artedidraconids and closely related harpagiferids

In the high-latitude shelf waters of Antarctica, fishes in the perciform suborder Notothenioidei dominate the fish fauna and constitute an adaptive radiation and a species flock. The 25 species of notothenioid plunderfishes, comprising four genera of the family Artedidraconidae, contribute substantially to fish species diversity on the high Antarctic shelf. A mental barbel is an autapomorphy for the family. Dolloidraco longedorsalis is the most abundant artedidraconid at depths over 400 m in these waters. In this article we present the anatomy and histology of the brain and special sense organs of Dolloidraco and compare it to the brains of other artedidraconids, closely related harpagiferids, and more generally to other notothenioids. We provide a detailed drawing of the brain and cranial nerves. The brain of Dolloidraco is simple, without external hypertrophy of sensory or motor regions, but contains several unusual features associated with the ventricular system and CSF, including well-developed circumventricular organs, subependymal expansions, and subarachnoid cisterns; and a ventricle in the corpus cerebellum. The brain of Dolloidraco also contains a lobed chief sensory nucleus of the trigeminal nerve that is correlated across species with barbel length. The eyes are large and contain a small choroid rete, a structure previously thought to be absent from members of this family. We document the histology of the duplex retina, olfactory apparatus, cutaneous taste buds, and barbel musculature and innervation. We discuss the role of pedomorphy in producing simplified brain morphologies. We consider the possibility that Dolloidraco is a somatosensory specialist-an unusual feature among vertebrates-and decide that this is unlikely.

Anatomical and functional evidence for a stress-responsive, monoamine-accumulating area in the dorsomedial hypothalamus of adult rat brain

The dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) plays an important role in relaying information to neural pathways mediating neuroendocrine, autonomic, and behavioral responses to stress. Evidence suggests that the DMH is a structurally and functionally diverse integrative structure that contributes to both facilitation and inhibition of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis, depending on the nature of the stimulus and the specific neural circuits involved. Previous studies have determined that stress or stress-related stimuli elevate tissue concentrations of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), dopamine, and noradrenaline selectively within the DMH. In order to determine the specific region of the rat DMH involved, we used high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection to measure tissue concentrations of 5-HT, 5-HIAA, dopamine, and noradrenaline within five different subregions of the DMH in adult female Lewis and Fischer rats immediately or 4 h following a 30-min period of restraint stress. Compared to unrestrained control rats, restrained rats had elevated concentrations of 5-HT, 5-HIAA, dopamine, and noradrenaline immediately after a 30-min period of restraint and had elevated concentrations of 5-HT 4 h following the onset of a 30-min period of restraint stress. These effects were confined to a specific region that included medial portions of the dorsal hypothalamic area and dorsal ependymal, subependymal, and neuronal components of the periventricular nucleus. Furthermore, these effects were observed in Lewis rats, but not Fischer rats, two closely related rat strains with well-documented differences in neurochemical, neuroendocrine, autonomic, and behavioral responses to stress. These data provide support for the existence of a stress-responsive, amine-accumulating area in the DMH that may play an important role in the differential stress responsiveness of Lewis and Fischer rats.

Differences in protein expression in the subcommissural organ of normal and lordotic lizards (Agama impalearis)

Lordosis, a skeletal malformation, is characterized by abnormal curvature of the vertebral column. Involvement of the subcommissural organ (SCO) in the correct development of the axial skeleton via the thread-like Reissner's fiber (RF) has been suggested. However, the functional significance of the SCO and RF in these mechanisms remains, to date, little understood. To detect eventual changes in the SCO of reptiles bearing a naturally occurring skeletal malformation, we aimed here at investigating with immunohistochemistry RF glycoprotein and immediate early gene expression in the SCO of normal and lordotic lizards. In normal lizards, RF immunoreactivity was evident in the apical and basal domains of SCO cells. In specimens derived from lordotic animals, RF-immunoreactive material filled all SCO cell portions, and numerous large droplets were observed in the basal part of the organ. Cell nuclei exhibiting immunoreactivity to the protein product of the gene c-fos were evident in basal SCO cells of lordotic animals, whereas Fos immunoreactivity was absent in the SCO of normal lizards. The changes detected in RF immunoreactivity and Fos induction in SCO cells of lordotic animals favor the occurrence of changes in the secretory activity and gene expression of SCO cells. The present data further demonstrate modifications occurring in the SCO secretory material in skeletal malformed vertebrates, and support a relationship of such changes with the malformed state of these animals.

Comparative ultrastructure and cytochemistry of the avian pineal organ

The breeding of birds is expected to solve problems of nourishment for the growing human population. The function of the pineal organ synchronizing sexual activity and environmental light periods is important for successful reproduction. Comparative morphology of the avian pineal completes data furnished by experiments on some frequently used laboratory animals about the functional organization of the organ. According to comparative histological data, the pineal of vertebrates is originally a double organ (the "third" and the "fourth eye"). One of them often lies extracranially, perceiving direct solar radiation, and the other, located intracranially, is supposed to measure diffuse brightness of the environment. Birds have only a single pineal, presumably originating from the intracranial pineal of lower vertebrates. Developing from the epithalamus, the avian pineal organ histologically seems not to be a simple gland ("pineal gland") but a complex part of the brain composed of various pinealocytes and neurons that are embedded in an ependymal/glial network. In contrast to organs of "directional view" that develop large photoreceptor outer segments (retina, parietal pineal eye of reptiles) in order to decode two-dimensional images of the environment, the "densitometer"-like pineal organ seems to increase their photoreceptor membrane content by multiplying the number of photoreceptor perikarya and developing follicle-like foldings of its wall during evolution ("folded retina"). Photoreceptor membranes of avian pinealocytes can be stained by antibodies against various photoreceptor-specific compounds, among others, opsins, including pineal opsins. Photoreceptors immunoreacting with antibodies to chicken pinopsin were also found in the reptilian pineal organ. Similar to cones and rods representing the first neurons of the retina in the lateral eye, pinealocytes of birds possess an axonal effector process which terminates on the vascular surface of the organ as a neurohormonal ending, or forms ribbon-containing synapses on pineal neurons. Serotonin is detectable immunocytochemically on the granular vesicles accumulated in neurohormonal terminals. Pinealocytic perikarya and axon terminals also bind immunocytochemically recognizable excitatory amino acids. Peripheral autonomic fibers entering the pineal organ through its meningeal cover terminate near blood vessels. Being vasomotor fibers, they presumably regulate the blood supply of the pineal tissue according to the different levels of light-dependent pineal cell activity.

Distribution of the orphan nuclear receptor Nurr1 in medaka (Oryzias latipes): cues to the definition of homologous cell groups in the vertebrate brain

The orphan nuclear receptor Nurr1 has been extensively studied in mammals and shown to contribute to the differentiation of several cell phenotypes in the nervous and endocrine systems. In this study, the gene homologous to the mammalian Nurr1 (NR4A2) was isolated in the teleost fish medaka (Oryzias latipes), and the distribution of its transcripts was analyzed within brains of embryos and adults. Nurr1 has a widespread distribution in the medaka brain. Large amounts of Nurr1 transcripts were found in the intermediate nucleus of the ventral telencephalon, preoptic magnocellular nucleus, ventral habenula, nucleus of the periventricular posterior tuberculum, and nuclei of glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves. To search for homologous cell groups between teleost fish and tetrapods brains, the co-localization of Nurr1 and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) transcripts was analyzed. Neither Nurr1 nor TH expression was detected in the ventral midbrain, but both transcripts were present in the periventricular nucleus of the posterior tuberculum. This observation supports the hypothesis that this nucleus is homologous to dopaminergic mesencephalic nuclei of mammals. The presence of Nurr1 in the preoptic magnocellular nucleus of medaka and paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus of mammals reinforces the hypothesis of homology between these areas. TH and Nurr1 transcripts are also co-localized, among others, in the nucleus of the paraventricular organ and nucleus of the vagus nerve. This work suggests that the differentiating role of Nurr1 in the central nervous system is conserved in gnathostomes.

Encephalopsin: a novel mammalian extraretinal opsin discretely localized in the brain

We have identified a mammalian opsin, encephalopsin, that shows strong and specific expression in the brain. Encephalopsin defines a new family of opsins and shows highest homology to vertebrate retinal and pineal opsins. Encephalopsin is highly expressed in the preoptic area and paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, both regions implicated in encephalic photoreception in nonmammalian vertebrates. In addition, encephalopsin shows highly patterned expression in other regions of the brain, being enriched in selected regions of the cerebral cortex, cerebellar Purkinje cells, a subset of striatal neurons, selected thalamic nuclei, and a subset of interneurons in the ventral horn of the spinal cord. Rostrocaudal gradients of encephalopsin expression are present in the cortex, cerebellum, and striatum. Radial stripes of encephalopsin expression are seen in the cerebellum. In the cortex and cerebellum, encephalopsin expression is considerably higher and more highly patterned in the adult than in the neonate. Encephalopsin is the first putative extraocular opsin identified in mammals and may play a role in encephalic photoreception.