Innervation of the avian pineal organ. A comparative study.

The innervation of the pineal organ was studied in 26 avian species under particular consideration of comparative aspects. A population of nerve cells and their pinealofugal (afferent) fiber systems were stained by means of the acetylcholinesterase method, while catecholamine-containing pinealopetal (efferent) fibers were demonstrated with the use of the glyoxylic acid method. Afferent axons were mainly found in the postero-proximal portion of the organ, and the patterns of their distribution were classified into three groups according to the characteristic densities of the reaction product. The number of acetylcholinesterase-positive neurons in the avian pineal organs examined in this study varied extremely from species to species, ranging from 0 to 362. Catecholamine-containing nerve fibers penetrating the antero-lateral walls of the pineal follicles accompanied blood vessels and were arranged more densely in the distal portion of the organ, in contrast to the distribution of the acetylcholinesterase-positive nerve fibers. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the distributional patterns of both types of neural projections was performed for the pineal organ of every avian species examined. In avian species possessing a relatively conspicuous afferent projection, such as Passeriformes, Nycticorax, and Milvus, terminals of catecholamine-containing nerve fibers were observed exclusively in the interfollicular and perivascular tissues. In Galliformes, which display only few pineal afferents, catecholamine-containing fibers terminate not only in the interfollicular space, but also in the neuroepithelial parenchyma. The regional differences in the innervation in the avian pineal organ suggest that the pinealocytes ranging from more sensory-like to more secretory-like elements are arranged in a mosaic-like pattern.