Spino-olivary projections from the upper cervical spinal cord: an experimental study using autoradiography and horseradish peroxidase.

Spino-olivary projections from segments C1 and C2 were examined in 17 cats using autoradiographic methods and in nine cats using the method of retrograde horseradish peroxidase (HRP) transport. Injections of 3H-leucine at the junction of the C1-C2 segments produced anterograde terminal labelling in two regions of the contralateral inferior olive, one in the rostromedial half of the dorsal accessory olive (DAO), the other in the caudal half of the medial accessory olive (MAO). Projections to the rostromedial DAO were best demonstrated when tracer labelled the ventromedial part of the dorsal horn, while projections to the caudal MAO were strongly labelled by injections in both the lateral and medial parts of the intermediate grey matter. Injections of HRP into the region of the inferior olive led to retrograde marking of cells in both regions of the contralateral spinal cord implicated by autoradiographic studies to have spino-olivary projections. Dense groupings of small rounded or fusiform cells were labelled contralaterally on the medial aspect of the dorsal horn in C1 and C2, while medium-sized multipolar cells were more sparsely distributed throughout intermediate laminae of C1-C5. Olivary projections from dorsal column nuclei were also examined and compared to those of spino-olivary projections. Injections of 3H-leucine into n. gracilis and cuneatus led to terminal labelling in three olivary regions, including the rostral DAO, the caudo-lateral DAO and the caudal MAO. Projections from the DCN to the rostral DAO and the caudal MAO overlapped with regions of projection from upper cervical segments although the territories occupied by DCN and upper cervical projections were not identical. Amino acid injections which were confined to n. cuneatus gave rise to terminal labelling in only the rostromedial DAO.