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Electron microscopic evidence for a retinohypothalamic projection to the suprachiasmatic nucleus of Passer domesticus

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Summary

The possibility of a direct retinohypothalamic projection was reinvestigated in Passer domesticus by electron microscopy following left unilateral retinectomy. To avoid misinterpretation of non-specific degeneration, the course of degenerative changes was observed at intervals of 6, 12, 24, 48 and 96 hours after operation. Of the hypothalamic areas examined in only one, the contralateral suprachiasmatic nucleus, was it possible to identify reliable indications of secondary anterograde degeneration comparable to those observed in the contralateral optic tectum. Single dark profiles within the supraoptic nucleus and the basal infundibular (tuberal) nucleus showed neither internal changes in structure nor an increase in number per unit area in retinectomized birds. Since photoperiodically induced gonadal growth occurs in totally blinded birds the functional significance of the retinohypothalamic projection to the suprachiasmatic nucleus is open to discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Cytobiology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Federal Republic of Germany

    H. G. Hartwig

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  1. H. G. Hartwig
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Supported by grants of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to Professor A. Oksche (Ok 1/17) and to the author (Ha 726/2). H.G.H. is indebted to Professor D. S. Farner, Seattle, for critically reading the manuscript.

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Hartwig, H.G. Electron microscopic evidence for a retinohypothalamic projection to the suprachiasmatic nucleus of Passer domesticus . Cell Tissue Res. 153, 89–99 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00225448

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00225448

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