Showing papers by "Sanford L. Palay published in 1970"

Interrelations of basket cell axons and climbing fibers in the cerebellar cortex of the rat.

Abstract: An analytical study was undertaken with both electron microscopy and the rapid Golgi method in order to clarify the interrelations of climbing fibers, basket cell axons, and Purkinje cell dendrites. The two fibers are readily distinguished in electron micrographs by means of their differing content of microtubules and neurofilaments, the packing density of synaptic vesicles, and the disposition of their synaptic junctions on the Purkinje cell dendrite. Climbing fibers are generally thin and contain many microtubules. They give off attenuated collaterals, whose rounded varicosities are densely packed with vesicles and which form en passant synapses with clusters of thorns projecting from the major Purkinje dendrites. In contrast, basket axons are relatively thick and contain many neurofilaments. By means of slight dilatations containing loosely aggregated vesicles, the axon and its collaterals form numerous synapses en passant with the smooth dendritic shafts and the perikaryon of the Purkinje cell. Climbing fibers and basket cell axons run along parallel with each other but without forming axo-axonic synapses as they ascend over the surface of the Purkinje dendrites. Both fibers form especially elaborate intertwined festoons at the branching points of the major dendrites. The kinds of synapses found are described in detail, and the functional implications are discussed.