Fine structure of rat cerebellar noradrenaline terminals as visualized by potassium permanganate ‘ in situ perfusion’ fixation method

Abstract

The fine structure of noradrenaline-containing nerve terminals in the rat cerebellum was investigated by means of modified potassium permanganate fixation, which revealed a number of small cored vesicles in the terminals. In the molecular layer, noradrenaline-containing terminals mainly made a synaptic like contact with tertiary or secondary Purkinje cell dendrites, while in the Purkinje cell layer no direct contact between noradrenaline-containing terminals and Purkinje cell soma was demonstrated in this study. In the granular layer, noradrenaline-containing nerve terminals were found in its superficial part, particularly around the glomeruli. Noradrenaline-containing nerve terminals in the granular layer mostly make a close contact with the dendrites of the granule cells. As well as confirming the noradrenergic input to Purkinje cells, the results show that noradrenaline might directly influence the granule cells.