Perioculomotor cell groups in monkey and man defined by their histochemical and functional properties: Reappraisal of the Edinger‐Westphal nucleus

Abstract

The perioculomotor region contains several functional cell groups, including parasympathetic preganglionic neurons of the ciliary ganglion, motoneurons of multiply innervated muscle fibers (MIF) of extraocular muscles, and urocortin-positive neurons. In this study, midbrain sections of monkey and human were treated with antibodies against choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), cytochrome oxidase (CytOx), nonphosphorylated neurofilaments (NP-NF), chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG), and urocortin (UCN) to identify them by their histochemical properties. To facilitate the comparison between species, a new nomenclature was introduced (see also May et al., 2007), which designates these perioculomotor cell populations (pIII) in terms of their function and histochemical properties. The name Edinger-Westphal nucleus (EW) is kept for the cytoarchitecturally defined cell group traditionally considered as the location of preganglionic neurons of the ciliary ganglion. In monkey, the EW contains ChAT-positive presumed preganglionic neurons, and is therefore termed EW(PG), but in contrast human EW consists of noncholinergic UCN-positive neurons, and is therefore termed EW(U). In human, the presumed preganglionic neurons were found dorsal to EW(U), as an inconspicuous group of ChAT- and CytOx-positive neurons. They were interspersed with prominent CSPG-positive cells, a pattern also present in monkey. For the first time, the MIF motoneurons could be identified around the medial aspect of the human oculomotor nucleus as a group of ChAT-positive neurons that lack CSPG-positive perineuronal nets. Moreover, the Perlia nucleus was found to share the histochemical properties of oculomotor twitch motoneurons. The present results form the basis for addressing the appropriate functional cell groups in correlative clinicopathological studies.