Localization of CRF-immunoreactive neurons in the cat medulla oblongata: their presence in the inferior olive.

Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF)-immunoreactive (IR) perikarya, visualized by the indirect immunoperoxidase method in colchicine-pretreated cats, were localized in many discrete regions of the medulla oblongata. They were found mainly in the dorsal aspect and midline of the medulla oblongata, and more rostrally in the ventrolateral portion. Our results also demonstrated CRF-IR neurons in the rostrocaudal extent of the inferior olive, probably projecting to the cerebellar cortex via thick axons visualized along the lateral edge of the medulla. CRF-IR olivary cells were also found in the pontine cat from which the forebrain was removed, but neither in hypophysectomized nor adrenalectomized cats.