Light and electron microscopic immunohistochemical studies of serotonin nerve fibers in the substantia nigra of the rat, cat and monkey.

The distribution of serotonin-containing nerve fibers in the substantia nigra of the rat, cat and monkey was studied with a highly sensitive peroxidase-antiperoxidase immunohistochemical method. Serotonin fibers in the substantia nigra of all species consisted of fine varicose fibers and formed a fine network. In the zona compacta of all species, serotonin fibers were sparsely distributed. In the zona reticularis of the rat and cat, these fibers were densely distributed and their distributional pattern was almost uniform, while in the monkey such fibers were unevenly distributed and high and low dense areas were intermingled. In the pars lateralis of all species, serotonin fibers were diffusely distributed, and the distributional density was much higher in the cat and monkey than in the rat. Immunoelectron-microscopic studies further revealed that a majority of the labeled varicosities in the rat substantia nigra were in close apposition to peridendritic axon terminals and were also free in the neuropil; occasionally they exhibited symmetrical synapses of "en passant" type with non-immunoreactive dendrites or somata. Our results support a functional significance of serotonergic regulation of the substantia nigra in mammals.