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Pathway specificity of reticulospinal and vestibulospinal projections in the 11‐day chicken embryo
Author(s) -
Glover Joel C.,
Petursdottir Gudrun
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.902700104
Subject(s) - brainstem , biology , retrograde tracing , spinal cord , neuroscience , anatomy , axoplasmic transport , embryo , central nervous system , microbiology and biotechnology
The organization of the axonal pathways of reticulospinal and vestibulospinal projections in the 11‐day chicken embryo was ascertained through retrograde tracing experiments. An in vitro reparation of the brainstem and cervical spinal cord facilitated precisely localized tracer applications. Single‐ and double‐labelling experiments involving high cervical injections of tracers in combination with selective lesions defined the specific pathways by which different brainstem neurons project to the spinal cord. Coherent, and in many cases distinct, groups of reticulospinal and vestibulospinal neurons could thus be identified on the basis of their position and projection pathway. The organization of these groups and their projections in the 11‐day chicken embryo is similar to that in avian and other vertebrate adults and therefore serves as a reference point for studies of path finding by bulbospinal axons during early development.