In the present study, we describe the structure of the central nervous system (CNS) of the marine gastropod Bulla gouldiana, and compare it with the structure of the CNS of the related mollusc, Aplysia californica. In addition, we performed an immunohistochemical analysis of a series of peptides, and the synaptic vesicle protein, synapsin I, in the central nervous system of B. gouldiana. The most common peptide in the B. gouldiana nervous system is the molluscan cardioexcitatory peptide (FMRFamide), which is present in a significant proportion of B. gouldiana neurons. A smaller number of neurons exhibit immunoreactivity to antisera raised against the calcitonin gene related peptide, vasopressin, vasoactive intestinal peptide, cholecystokinin, galanin and enkephalin. In some instances there is colocalization of two or more peptides. Very few neurons or axons exhibit synapsin I-like immunoreactivity. The patterns of immunoreactivity to these antisera is quite similar to the patterns that have been described in other gastropods, including Lymnaea stagnalis and Aplysia californica. These observations emphasize the importance of FMRFamide-like compounds in phylogenetically old nervous systems and indicate that compounds similar to mammalian peptides are present in the gastropod. Thus, the production of a wide variety of peptide molecules and their use in neuronal function appears to be a highly conserved phylogenetic process.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of nerve growth factor on behavioral recovery following caudate nucleus lesions in rats.

Rats with bilateral lesions of the caudate nucleus received intracaudate injections of either nerve growth factor protein (NGF) on inert buffer immediately following surgery. NGF-treated animals demonstrated a faster recovery of normal appetitive behavior and perseverated less than their buffer-treated counterparts on a spatial reversal task, but both groups were impaired relative to sham controls on acquisition of an active avoidance response. Glia to neuron ratios were significantly increased in both lesion groups when compared with sham controls. However, this increase was less in the NGF-treated animals than in the buffer-treated animals. NGF treatment had no effect on steady-state caudate dopamine levels, measured six months after surgery.

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PubMedDate not supplied

The distribution of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, neuropeptide Y and galanin in locus coeruleus neurons.

The locus coeruleus (LC) is composed of noradrenaline-producing neurons that project widely throughout the neuraxis. Subpopulations of LC neuron perikarya have been shown to contain neuropeptide Y (NPY) and galanin (GAL). In the major terminal fields of LC projections, the cerebral cortex, dorsal thalamus and cerebellar cortex, there are differing plexuses of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DBH), NPY and GAL immunoreactive axons. DBH immunoreactive plexuses are found in all areas which conform in appearance to previous demonstrations of noradrenaline localization by fluorescence histochemistry. In contrast, there are few NPY immunoreactive axons in thalamus and cerebellum, and the cortical plexus, while similar to the DBH immunoreactive plexus, is not affected by 6-hydroxydopamine treatment. Similarly, there are few GAL immunoreactive axons in either cerebral cortex, dorsal thalamus or cerebellar cortex. Transection of ascending LC axons results in accumulation of DBH but not NPY or GAL immunoreactivity proximal to the lesion. These observations indicate that NPY and GAL are distributed differently in LC neurons from noradrenaline and DBH.

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