Chicken optic tract cells showing GABA-like immunoreactivity: morphological and immunocytochemical studies

A population of cells has been found in the chick optic tract and chiasm exhibiting GABA-like immunoreactivity (GABA+; Granda and Crossland, J. Comp. Neurol. 287:455-469, '89). It is not known, however, whether the cells are neurons. We have studied the GABA+ cells by using morphological and immunocytochemical methods. We found that there are more than 500 cells in each tract. At the light microscopic level, the cells possess processes resembling dendrites and axons. At the electron microscopic level, the organelle content of the cells is similar to that of neurons. The cells are immunoreactive with antibodies to MAP2 and neuron specific enolase, two proteins characteristic of neurons. Taken together the findings indicate that the GABA+ cells of the chick optic tract are neurons, perhaps similar to the interstitial neurons found in the white matter of other vertebrates.