Distribution of calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivity in the central nervous system of the frog, Rana esculenta.

The distribution of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), immunoreactive structures in the central nervous system of the frog, Rana esculenta, was studied using the peroxidase immunohistochemical method. Immunoreactive perikarya were found in all major parts of the brain. In the forebrain, neurons of the septohippocampal formation, the amygdala, the ventromedial and posterocentral thalamic nuclei, and the cerebrospinal fluid contacting neurons in the diencephalic periventricular organ showed immunoreactivity. The pear-shaped neurons of the optic tectum, and perikarya of the oculomotor nucleus in the midbrain were also immunoreactive. In the hindbrain, neurons of the cranial nerve motor nuclei, neurons of the superior vestibular nucleus, giant cells of the reticular formation, and preganglionic parasympathetic neurons of the superior salivatory nucleus were stained. Motoneurons presented immunostaining also in the spinal cord. Immunoreactive fibers were shown to occur in the olfactory tract, the striatum, the tegmentum and the basis mesencephali, the descending tract of the trigeminal nerve, the solitary tract, Lissauer's tract, and the dorsal horn of spinal cord. A comparison of the distribution of CGRP immunoreactivity in the mammalian and amphibian central nervous system revealed that, in relation to the size of the brain, CGRP is more extensively distributed in the amphibian than in the mammalian limbic system.