The origin of the reticulo-olivary projection in the rat: a retrograde horseradish peroxidase study.

Electrophoretic injections of horseradish peroxidase were made in different parts of the rat inferior olivary complex using a ventral approach. Data from these injections provide anatomical evidence for the existence of a projection to the inferior olive which takes origin from reticular nuclei in the brainstem. The majority of reticulo-olivary neurons are located in the nucleus raphe obscurus and nucleus raphe pallidus. Other reticular nuclei which contribute to this projection include the nucleus reticularis ventralis and nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis. Analysis of injections confined to specific parts of the olivary complex reveals a topographical pattern in the reticulo-olivary projection. Caudal parts of the complex receive input primarily from the nucleus reticularis ventralis. As more rostral and medial parts of the inferior olive are included in the injection, there is concomitant shifting of labeled neurons to the nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis and the raphe nuclei. The reticulo-olivary neurons may serve several non-mutually exclusive roles in olivary circuitry. They may be the source of serotonin and/or substance P to the nucleus. Physiologically, they may provide the inhibitory input observed in the nucleus. Finally, some of these neurons may be the brainstem relay of the lateral funiculus and dorsolateral funiculus spino-olivo-cerebellar pathway proposed by Larson and his co-workers (J. Physiol., Lond. 203, 611-640, 641-649).