Morphometric analysis of the synaptic ribbons and nerve vesicles of the cat pineal gland after electrical stimulation of the superior cervical ganglia.

The nerve vesicles and synaptic ribbons were quantified in the cat pineal gland after electrical stimulation of the pineal sympathetic nerve fibers. It has been shown that the bilateral electrical stimulation of the preganglionic fibers innervating the superior cervical ganglia (SCG) markedly reduces the number of dense cores of small dark vesicles (SDV) and, on the other hand, modifies the number and shape of the large dark vesicles (LDV). An increase in the number of the synaptic ribbons after stimulation of the SCG supports the hypothesis that the numerical reduction of dense cores of nerve vesicles in the cat pineal gland influences the level of synaptic ribbon formation.