A new case for a presynaptic role of dendrites: an immunocytochemical study of the n. raphé dorsalis.

The distribution of serotonin (5-HT) was determined by the application of the preembedding peroxidase-anti-peroxidase (PAP) technique in vibratome and ultrathin sections of the brain stem. The antiserum stained the neuronal groups B1 to B9. Somata, dendrites and axons of multipolar and bipolar neurons were recognized in the usual locations. The most commonly found profiles in the area of the n. raphe dorsalis were dendrites. The search for axon terminals was unsuccessful. The labeled dendrites appear in synaptic contact with unlabeled endings containing round or pleomorphic vesicles, and occasionally some large dense core vesicles. Contacts between two labeled dendrites or processes were not found. Occasionally a dendrodendritic junction between a 5-HT labeled dendrite and an unlabeled dendrite has been found. There are areas of the dendritic membrane free of synaptic junctions and free of glial insulation. Results are discussed in relation with the previously proposed presynaptic role of the dendrites in the neuronal circuitry of the n. raphé dorsalis.