Rostro-caudal variations in neuronal size reflect the topography of cellular phenotypes in the rat superior cervical sympathetic ganglion.

The mammalian superior cervical ganglion (SCG) contains a complex mixture of neuronal phenotypes that selectively innervate different peripheral targets. The present study examined the rostro-caudal topography of sympathetic phenotypes in the rat SCG by analyzing the relation between cell position, size, and the expression of immunoreactivity for neuropeptide Y (NPY), calretinin, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). We observed that 64% of SCG neurons expressed NPY and had an average diameter of approximately 24 microm throughout the ganglion. Previous studies indicate that most of these cells are vasoconstrictor in function. By contrast, the size of NPY-negative neurons varied from approximately 25 microm in the rostral ganglion near the internal carotid nerve to approximately 30 microm in the caudal ganglion between the external carotid nerve and cervical sympathetic trunk. Many of the large NPY-negative neurons in the caudal ganglion were surrounded by dense axonal baskets that were immunoreactive for calretinin and therefore are likely to be secretomotor neurons projecting to salivary glands. Consistent with earlier reports, the rostral ganglion contained low numbers of presumptive pupillomotor neurons, based on their expression of NPY and contact with fibers containing CGRP. The present results indicate that neuronal size may provide a useful aid to cellular identification, especially in the caudal ganglion, and they provide further evidence of a topographic organization within the mammalian SCG.