ALTERATION OF SEROTONERGIC INNERVATION IN THE SUPRACHIASMATIC NUCLEUSOF THE RAT FOLLOWING REMOVAL OF INPUT FIBERS FROM RETINA AND LATERAL GENICULATE-NUCLEUS
S. Ueda et al., ALTERATION OF SEROTONERGIC INNERVATION IN THE SUPRACHIASMATIC NUCLEUSOF THE RAT FOLLOWING REMOVAL OF INPUT FIBERS FROM RETINA AND LATERAL GENICULATE-NUCLEUS, Neuroscience letters, 211(2), 1996, pp. 97-100
To examine the influence of afferent input to the suprachiasmatic nucl
eus (SCN) on the development of serotonergic fibers in the SCN, affere
nt fibers from the retina and lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) were el
iminated in neonatal rats. Eight weeks after lesion, the distribution
pattern of serotonergic fibers in the SCN was examined immunohistochem
ically. Neither bilateral enucleation nor LGN ablation altered the ser
otonergic fiber distribution in the SCN as compared to the normal adul
t rat. However, following combined lesions of bilateral enucleation an
d bilateral LGN ablation, the density of serotonergic fibers decreased
throughout the SCN. The present results indicate that both retino-hyp
othalamic and geniculo-hypothalamic fibers may play an important role
in the development of serotonergic innervation in the SCN in vivo.