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A R Lieberman

Publications and source records attributed to A R Lieberman.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Are there connections between the thalamic reticular nucleus and the brainstem reticular formation?

Increasing awareness that the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) plays an important role in controlling the output of cortically projecting cells in nuclei of the dorsal thalamus has focused attention on the question of whether there exist ascending projections to the TRN from the mesencephalic or other parts of the brainstem reticular formation (BRF). We have examined this and the related question of whether the neurons of TRN project to the BRF, by anterograde and retrograde tracing experiments with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and HRP conjugated to wheat germ agglutinin. Injections of tracer were placed stereotaxically in the BRF at various depths and rostrocaudal and mediolateral coordinates, and the TRN and adjacent nuclei were examined in serial coronal sections, using tetramethylbenzidine as the principal chromogen. Retrogradely labelled cell bodies were consistently seen in hypothalamus and zona incerta but never in TRN, suggesting that, in the rat, TRN neurons do not project caudal to the thalamus. After 54 out of 60 injections, no terminal label was detected in any part of the TRN although such label was present in other parts of the thalamus, including the intralaminar nuclei, in the same sections. We therefore conclude that direct projections from the BRF to the TRN must be extremely sparse, and that those effects of BRF stimulation upon thalamocortical transmission that are mediated by the TRN (rather than by direct projections to dorsal thalamic nuclei) probably depend chiefly on indirect polysynaptic pathways.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Subcortical afferent and efferent connections of the superior colliculus in the rat and comparisons between albino and pigmented strains.

Subcortical connections of the superior colliculus were investigated in albino and pigmented rats using retrograde and anterograde tracing with horseradish peroxidase (HRP), following unilateral injection of HRP into the superior colliculus. Afferents project bilaterally from the parabigeminal nuclei, the nucleus of the optic tract, the posterior pretectal region, the dorsal part of the lateral posterior-pulvinar complex and the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus; and ipsilaterally from the substantia nigra pars reticulata, the pars lateralis of the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus, the intergeniculate leaflet, the zona incerta, the olivary pretectal nucleus, the nucleus of the posterior commissure, the lateral thalamus, Forel's field H2, and the ventromedial hypothalamus. Collicular efferents terminate ipsilaterally in the anterior, posterior and olivary pretectal nuclei, the nuclei of the optic tract and posterior commissure, the ventrolateral part of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, the pars lateralis of the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus, the intergeniculate leaflet, and the zona incerta; and bilaterally in the parabigeminal nuclei and lateral posterior-pulvinar complex (chiefly its dorsal part). The general topographical patterns of some of the afferent and efferent projections were also determined: the caudal and rostral parts of the parabigeminal nucleus project to the caudal and rostral regions, respectively, of the superior colliculus; caudal superior colliculus projects to the most lateral, and lateral superior colliculus to the most caudal part of the terminal field in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus; caudolateral superior colliculus projects to the caudal ventrolateral part of the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus, while rostromedial parts of the colliculus project more rostrally and dorsomedially. Following comparable injections in pigmented and albino animals, fewer retrogradely labelled cells were found in subcortical structures in the albino than in the pigmented rats. The difference was most marked in nuclei contralateral to the injected colliculus. Thus, the effects of albinism on the nervous system may be more widespread than previously thought.

Albinism↗
PubMed1985

Axon terminals of the projection from the superior colliculus to the olivary pretectal nucleus in the rat.

The terminals of axons projecting to the olivary pretectal nucleus have been identified by electron microscopy following injections of horseradish peroxidase into the superior colliculus of adult albino rats. The labelled terminals were equated with RD-terminals described in previous studies of this nucleus. They were 0.3-1.3 micron in diameter and contained round synaptic vesicles. Most also contained small dark mitochondria. They established Gray type 1 synaptic contacts with the dendrites of presumptive projection cells. Most terminated within non-glomerular neuropil, chiefly in the peripheral 'shell' of the nucleus; a few terminated in regions of glomerular neuropil.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Synaptic organization of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus in the adult hamster. An electron microscope study using degeneration and horseradish peroxidase tracing techniques.

The synaptic organization of the alpha sector of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus has been examined by electron microscopy in normal adult hamsters and in adult hamsters subjected to unilateral eye enucleation or intravitreal injection of horseradish peroxidase. Two types of neuropil are apparent. Islands of complex neuropil partially enclosed by astrocyte processes (synaptic glomeruli) are surrounded by a sea of simpler non-glomerular neuropil. The latter is dominated by small axon terminals with spherical synaptic vesicles and Gray type 1 axodendritic contacts (SR-boutons) and also contains axon terminals with flattened synaptic vesicles (F-boutons). The glomerular neuropil contains exclusively postsynaptic dendrites and dendritic protrusions of presumptive projection cells; pre- and postsynaptic pleomorphic-vesicle-containing P-boutons (interpreted as appendages of the dendrites of interneurons); large axon terminals containing spherical synaptic vesicles and large pale mitochondria (R-boutons) which were experimentally identified as retinal terminals and which are presynaptic to both projection cell dendrites and P-boutons at Gray type 1 contacts; F-boutons (minority component). F-boutons and P-boutons are presynaptic to both projection cell dendrites and P-boutons and P-boutons are the intermediate elements of various serial synapses including triplet (triadic) synapses. Medium-large terminals with spherical synaptic vesicles and dark mitochondria (RLD-boutons) which were commonly invaginated by dendritic spines of projection cells in small glomerulus-like formations were also identified. The origin of RLD-boutons is unknown but SR-boutons probably derive chiefly from ipsilateral visual cortex and possibly also from superior colliculus, and non-glomerular F-boutons probably originate in the ipsilateral thalamic reticular nucleus. No differences in synaptic organization were found between the part of the nucleus which receives uncrossed retinal input and the part which receives crossed input, nor were differences seen in the size, fine structure or relationships between the terminals of identified crossed and uncrossed retinal axons.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The thalamic reticular nucleus of the adult rat: experimental anatomical studies.

The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) is a sheet-like nucleus partially enclosing the dorsolateral and anterior aspects of the thalamus and traversed by the thalamo-cortical and cortico-thalamic fibre systems. This paper describes the cellular and synaptic organization of the TRN in adult albino rats on the basis of LM and EM studies of normal animals and experimental animals with injections of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and/or lesions in various parts of the brain. Particular attention was paid to the dorso-caudal part of the TRN, which establishes connections with visual centres. LM-HRP preparations show that the neurons of TRN project only to ipsilateral dorsal thalamus; no labelled cell bodies were found in TRN after injections into the cortex or any part of the brain stem caudal to the thalamus. Small injections into dorsal thalamus result in a small cluster of labelled neurons and an associated patch of terminal label in TRN. The dorso-caudal part of the nucleus projects to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, the ventro-caudal part to the medial geniculate nucleus and a large part of the nucleus anterior to the areas associated with the geniculate nuclei projects to the ventrobasal nucleus. No evidence was found for a widespread distribution of reticulo-thalamic axons and the connections between TRN and the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and between TRN and the ventrobasal nucleus show a fine-grain topographical organization with more rostral and dorsal parts of TRN projecting to more rostral and dorsal parts of the dorsal lateral geniculate and ventrobasal nuclei. The neurons of TRN are variable in size (range of somal diameters c. 10-20 micron), shape (cell bodies are most commonly ellipsoidal) and dendritic morphology (bitufted and bipolar arrangements most common), but no basis for subdividing them into more than one class was found with any of the techniques used. The cell body and dendrites are commonly aligned parallel to the surface of TRN and at right angles to the traversing fibre bundles. The dendrites do not branch extensively and are only moderately spinous. Long, hair-like spines corresponding to those described by Scheibel & Scheibel (1966) were not found: nor were dendritic bundles found to be as prominent in EM material as reported by these authors in LM-Golgi material. Plasma membranes of dendrites in small bundles and of contiguous somata were commonly in direct contact over large areas, but gap junctions between them were not seen.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Identification of synapses formed by the aberrant, uncrossed retinogeniculate projection in the hamster after neonatal monocular enucleation.

The terminals of the abnormally enhanced, stabilized uncrossed retinogeniculate projection in adult hamsters produced by removal of one eye at birth, were labelled by injection of HRP into the remaining eye and examined by electron microscopy. Labelled terminals closely resembling normally positioned retinal terminals were found to make well-differentiated synaptic contacts with geniculate projection and interneuron-like cells in regions of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus that do not receive uncrossed retinal input in normal adult animals.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

[Primary optic projections in the rabbit. Study using the horseradish peroxidase anterograde labeling technic].

The primary visual pathways, in particular those to the lateral geniculate body, of 11 albino and 7 pigmented rabbits, were studied using the method of anterograde labelling with horseradish peroxidase following injection of the tracer into the vitreous body of one eye. A heavy projection to the contralateral dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus was seen in all animals. In both albino and pigmented animals a region devoid of label was present in the medial part of the alpha sector of the nucleus. This region corresponded to a compact, oval or wedge-shaped field of terminal label in the ipsilateral nucleus, which was much heavier in pigmented than in albino rabbits. In the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus, contralateral retinal input was almost entirely confined to the caudal half of the lateral sector of the nucleus, where two laminae of dense terminal label, separated by a less densely labelled area, were oriented parallel to one another and to the optic tract. This bilaminar distribution of retinal afferents to the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus has not been described in previous studies. The ipsilateral projection was to the dorsal part of the lateral sector and was most prominent in pigmented animals. The "intergeniculate leaflet" received a prominent contralateral input in all animals, and a clear ipsilateral input in pigmented animals, which overlapped with the contralateral input. Projections to other primary visual centres (pretectal nuclei, superior colliculus, nuclei of the accessory optic tract) are also described.

Albinism↗
PubMed1984

Postnatal development of ipsilateral retino-geniculate projections in normal albino rats and the effects of removal of one eye at birth.

The postnatal development of ipsilateral retinofugal projections to the lateral geniculate body in normal albino rats, and in rats unilaterally enucleated at birth has been examined. At postnatal ages ranging from 1 day to 6 months, horseradish peroxidase was injected into one eye of normal rats and into the remaining eye of neonatally enucleated animals. After approximately 20 hours, the animals were perfused, the brains sectioned and reaction product visualised using tetramethylbenzidine. Ipsilateral retinal projections to the lateral geniculate body in normal animals were extensive on postnatal day 1 and became reduced over the next few days, the adult pattern being established between days 9 and 12. In the enucleated group, the terminal fields of the ipsilateral projections to the lateral geniculate body from the remaining eye remained larger and displayed a greater density of terminal labelling than in age-matched controls. In addition, the ipsilateral terminal field in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus occupied a more lateral position than in control animals. These findings support previous suggestions that the abnormally large ipsilateral retino-fugal projections observed in adult rats following removal of one eye, at or close to, birth, result from a failure of the ipsilateral projection to become restricted and that terminal or preterminal sprouting of retinal axons may also make a small contribution to the formation of the exuberant ipsilateral projection.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Does the early exuberant retinal projection to the superior colliculus in the neonatal rat develop synaptic connections?

The retinal projections of newborn rats are more extensive than those of the adult and retract to form the adult pattern during the first week after birth. In this study, the retinal projections from one eye of newborn hooded rats were labeled by anterograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) following intravitreal injection of the tracer, and HRP-labeled axons and terminals were then sought by electron microscopy in coronal sections of the superior colliculus cut at 3 levels: rostral, middle and caudal. Labeled presynaptic profiles were present in the superior colliculus on the side contralateral to the injection at all rostro-caudal levels and in the rostral portion of the ipsilateral superior colliculus. But in approximately 37 sections analyzed in detail from 11 animals, only one example was found of an unequivocally presynaptic profile in the middle or caudal regions of the ipsilateral superior colliculus. Thus it would appear that in the newborn hooded rat, the exuberant ipsilateral projections to the middle and caudal parts of the superior colliculus form no or very few transient synaptic connections.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Normal postnatal development of retinogeniculate axons and terminals and identification of inappropriately-located transient synapses: electron microscope studies of horseradish peroxidase-labelled retinal axons in the hamster.

Axons from the eyes reach the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the hamster at birth and both crossed and uncrossed axons spread throughout the nucleus within which they overlap extensively between postnatal days 2-6, before segregating to terminate in different parts of the nucleus by days 8-10 [So, Schneider and Frost (1978) Brain Res. 142, 343-352]. We have labelled retinal axons and their terminations between the day of birth (day 0) and day 6 by injecting one eye with horseradish peroxidase a few hours prior to sacrifice. Labelled profiles were then systematically sought, identified and their position determined, by electron microscope study of large frontal thin sections of both dorsal lateral geniculate nuclei. Labelled crossed and a few labelled uncrossed axons were present at day 0 and became progressively more common over the following few days; appropriately-located labelled uncrossed axons and terminals in the centromedial part of the nucleus (future ipsilateral sector) were relatively less common than labelled crossed axons in the ventrolateral part of the nucleus (part of the future contralateral sector), particularly between days 0 and 3. Synaptic contacts established by such labelled axons were characterized by predominantly electron-lucent spherical presynaptic vesicles and a prominent postsynaptic density. At day 4, labelled uncrossed axons made synaptic contact in the future contralateral sector (which is devoid of uncrossed input after days 8-10) and a few crossed axons made synaptic contacts in the future ipsilateral sector (devoid of crossed input after days 8-10). Such terminals and their synaptic contacts, were identical to appropriately-located ones in the same material. Inappropriately-located terminals were not found in the future contralateral sector at day 6, or in adults. No specialized contacts were observed between inappropriately-located axons or terminals and either other axon terminals or glial cell processes. Thus, during the development of the hamster retinogeniculate projection, inappropriately-located axons establish transient synaptic contacts with geniculate cells, and these contacts are lost as the segregated adult pattern of projections is established.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Neural elements containing glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the rat; immunohistochemical studies by light and electron microscopy.

Immunoreactive constituents of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of adult albino rats were examined by light- and electron-microscopy, using the unlabelled antibody enzyme method, following treatment of brain slices with a purified antibody to glutamic acid decarboxylase. The neuropil of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus displayed a conspicuous granular immunoreactivity. In addition, the antibody was bound to a class of small neurons of characteristic morphology. These cells possessed few (commonly 2-4) sparsely branched, long dendrites from some of which immunoreactive appendages were traced. Many cells were bipolar in form, and the dendrites of some appeared to be preferentially orientated. The immunoreactive cells closely resembled intrinsic interneurons characterized in previous Golgi studies of this nucleus. By electron-microscopy, immunoreactive presynaptic elements were present both in the extraglomerular neuropil and in the synaptic glomeruli. The former were axon terminals containing flattened synaptic vesicles and making Gray type II axo-dendritic synaptic contact; they appeared to correspond to axon terminals whose origin in the thalamic reticular nucleus has been established in previous studies, but it is possible that some were axon terminals of intrinsic interneurons. The immunoreactive glomerular components also contained flattened vesicles, were presynaptic to presumptive projection cell dendrites, postsynaptic to retinal axon terminals, and participated in triplet (triadic) and other complex synaptic arrangements. They corresponded in all respects to the synaptic portions of the complex dendritic appendages of intrinsic interneurons, identified and characterized in previous studies. The finding that there are high levels of glutamic acid decarboxylase in the cell bodies, dendritic shafts and dendritic appendages of intrinsic interneurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the rat, and in the axon terminals of fibres projecting to this site from the thalamic reticular nucleus, allows us to conclude that the inhibitory inputs to the geniculo-cortical projection cells from both of these sources are probably mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Thalamic reticular nucleus: anatomical evidence that cortico-reticular axons establish monosynaptic contact with reticulo-geniculate projection cells.

Cell bodies and dendrites of neurones in the thalamic reticular nucleus projecting to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus in adult albino rats, were labelled by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). In the same animals the terminals of cortico-reticular axons were made identifiable by ipsilateral visual cortex ablation. Degenerating axon terminals established Gray type I synaptic contact with HRP-filled dendrites, indicating a monosynaptic connection between cortico-reticular and reticulo-geniculate projection cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Mode of termination of afferents from the thalamic reticular nucleus in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the rat.

The terminals of axons projecting to the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus from the thalamic reticular nucleus were identified by electron microscopy 8-24 h after placing small lesions in the ipsilateral reticular nucleus. The terminals contained flattened synaptic vesicles and made Gray type II axo-dendritic synaptic contacts with geniculate neurons. Their identification as F-axons accords well with physiological evidence for a powerful monosynaptic inhibitory input to geniculocortical projection cells from reticular nucleus neurons.

Afferent Pathways↗
PubMed1980

The presence and possible significance of agranular reticulum in paranodal oligodendrocyte cytoplasm and in periglomerular astrocyte processes.

Paranodal glial loops (lateral belt cytoplasm) of myelinated CNS and PNS fibres contain tubules of agranular reticulum, as well as microtubules, wound spirally around the axon. Similar agranular elements run circumferentially in the expanded rims of sheet-like astrocytic processes encapsulating thalamic synaptic glomeruli. A role for agranular reticulum in these sites in control of the ionic composition of adjacent cellular and extracellular compartments is suggested.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Relationships between mitochondrial outer membranes and agranular reticulum in nervous tissue: ultrastructural observations and a new interpretation.

This study is concerned with extensions of the outer membranes of mitochondria in cells of nervous tissue, and with possible relationships between the extensions and the agranular reticulum. A variety of preparative techniques was applied to a large number of different central nervous tissues (CNS) and peripheral nervous tissues (PNS), using conventional thin sections, thicker sections (100 nm or more) and 3-dimensional reconstructions of serial thin sections. Extensions were commonly observed, particularly from the ends of longitudinally oriented mitochondria in axons and dendrites. Often these had the appearance of, and could be traced into apparent continuity with, adjacent elements of the agranular membrane. In addition to these apical tubular extensions, we also observed and reconstructed short lateral tubular or sac-like extensions and vesicular protrusions of the outer mitochondrial membrane. We discuss and discount the possibility that the extensions are artefacts, consider the structural and biochemical similarities between the outer mitochondrial membrane and agranular reticulum and propose that the outer mitochondrial is part of the agranular reticulum (or a specialized portion of the agranular reticulum). We suggest that the translocation of mitochondria in nerve cells, and probably in other cells as well, involves movement of the inner mitochondrial membrane and the enclosed matrix (mitoplast) within channels of agranular reticulum in continuity, or in transient continuity, with the outer mitochondrial membrane.

Animals↗