Axonal morphology in fibrodendritic laminae of the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus: Afferent projections from the medial superior olivary nucleus

The distribution and morphology of axons projecting from the medial superior olivary nucleus to the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus were studied in the adult cat. Injections of Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin, biocytin, or dextran-rhodamine in the medial superior olivary nucleus labeled axons that ascended in the lateral lemniscus. Before entering the inferior colliculus, collateral branches of these labeled axons ended in the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus in thin, horizontal bands forming laminae that extended throughout the rostral-caudal length of the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus. A dorsal-ventral topography was apparent in the position of the lamina with respect to the injection site, but no relation between the rostral-caudal location of labeled endings and the injection site was observed. There was a divergent pattern of connections within the horizontal laminae rather than a point-to-point organization. The terminal branches of the collateral axons exhibited round or oval boutons en passant and terminaux. Individual arbors reconstructed from serial sections distributed varicosities in circumscribed domains that were only a subcomponent of the area of the afferent laminae in which they were distributed. The spatial relationships of axonal domains of several axons labeled from a single injection in the medial superior olivary nucleus suggest a mosaic pattern in the laminar connections with the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.