On the presence of reciprocal synapses in the paratympanic organ of the chicken.

Abstract

The innervation pattern of the paratympanic organ was studied by TEM. The paraympanic organ is a small tapering vesicle, typical of birds, situated in the medial wall of the tympanic cavity; it contains hair cells which are similar to type II receptors of the acoustic-lateral system; these cells are characterised by synapses which are not only afferent and efferent, as previously described, but also reciprocal with efferent fibers. Our observation revealed some efferent nerve fibers which form a relationship with hair cells containing synaptic bodies situated next to the plasma membrane and near the fibers themselves. Since synaptic bodies are commonly considered to be the site where the transmission of the impulse from the receptor to the nerve fiber takes place, our pictures suggest that the efferent fibers and hair cells may be either presynaptic or postsynaptic with respect to each other in the paratympanic organ. The hypothesis is formulated that reciprocal synapses allow interaction between hair cells, thus determining an increase in the contrast of information sent by the paratympanic organ to the CNS.