Morphological study of the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus in the monkey, Macaca mulatta, by Nissl, Golgi, and computer reconstruction and rotation methods.

We have studied the morphology of silver-impregnated neurons (rapid Golgi technique) in the rostral interstitial nucleus of the medial longitudinal fasciculus (riMLF), a center involved in the control of vertical and torsional saccadic eye movements. This morphological study of riMLF neurons in the rhesus monkey was undertaken to further our understanding of the functional circuitry of the oculomotor system. Our study employed Nissl, Golgi, and computer-assisted methods. The cytoarchitectonic boundaries of the riMLF and its relationships to neighboring structures were determined in both Nissl and Golgi preparations. Five (I-V) distinct morphological types of riMLF neurons were distinguished in the Golgi impregnations on the basis of soma size, dendritic size, numbers of primary dendrites, number of dendritic branch points, as well as form, number, and distribution of dendritic appendages. Type I neurons impregnated most frequently and had the most extensive and highly branched dendritic tree. Type II neurons displayed thick dendrites with complex dendritic appendages, but the dendritic tree was much more compact than that of type I cells. Type III and type V cells had fusiform somas and relatively unbranched dendritic trees but differed greatly in size as well as dendritic morphology. The type IV cell was the smallest neuron and had many characteristics of the local interneurons found in other thalamic, subthalamic, hypothalamic and midbrain centers. The type V was the largest neuron, least frequently impregnated, and found only at rostral riMLF levels. Digitized reconstructions of each type of neuron were rotated by the computer, which revealed that the dendritic trees of types I, III, and V occupy a disk-like compartment in the riMLF neuropil. In contrast, the tree of types II and IV occupy a roughly spherical compartment. We suggest that three of the cell types are well suited for specific purposes: type II cells for receiving topographically organized inputs that contain spatial information, type I cells for short-lead burst neuron output to the motor neurons or other premotor centers, and type IV cells for inhibitory inputs to type I cells.