The interconnection between the vestibular nuclei and the nodulus: a study of reciprocity.

The reciprocal connections between the nodulus and the vestibular and perihypoglossal nuclei in the cat have been studied by anterograde and retrograde transport after implants of crystalline wheatgerm agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase complex (WGA-HRP) restricted to one or two nodular folia. The findings supplement the previous study by Epema et al. (Neurosci. Lett., 1985, 57: 273-278), who injected WGA-HRP into the vestibular nuclei. In that study, details concerning the nodular origin and termination of the fibres within the reciprocal connections were given; in the present study, details are given concerning the origin and termination of the fibres within the vestibular and perihypoglossal nuclei. Our observations give evidence that the nodulovestibular fibres are distributed to a somewhat larger area than that projecting back to the nodulus. The distribution of the labelled cells and fibres is shown in Fig. 2. Of the 4 main nuclei, it is only the lateral vestibular nucleus which is devoid of a reciprocal connection with the nodulus, while only groups x and z of the minor cell groups are found to have such projections. Of the perihypoglossal nuclei, it is only the nucleus praepositus hypoglossi which appears to be interconnected with the nodulus.