Serotonergic axons form basket-like terminals in cerebral cortex.

Serotonergic axons in the posterior cerebral cortex of the cat were demonstrated immunohistochemically using a monoclonal antibody to serotonin (5-HT). This technique reveals the presence of a dense serotonergic innervation of single cortical neurons at the light microscopic level. 5-HT axons with large varicosities (1-6 microns in diameter) form distinct, basket-like arrays around counterstained somata principally in layer I. In each basket one or more axons encircle and make repeated contact with the soma. Some axons extend from the soma and apparently climb along the dendrites of the target neuron. The climbing 5-HT axons form a stellate or horizontal pattern suggesting that the target cells are non-pyramidal neurons of the supragranular layers.