Long-spined polymorphic neurons of the medial cortex of lizards: a Golgi, Timm, and electron-microscopic study

The morphology, ultrastructure, and principal synaptic input of long-spined neurons located in the inner plexiform layer of the medial cortex in three related species of lizards is described. Golgi impregnations have been used to define the external morphology of these neurons and their axonal trajectories. Their most striking characteristic is the presence of very long spines or "microdendrites" especially abundant on the distal dendritic segments. Axons have ascendent trajectories, pass through the cell layer, and ramify in the outer plexiform layer. Combined Golgi-electron microscopy as well as standard electron microscopy permitted the definition of the ultrastructure of these neurons. Timm and sulfide-osmium methods permitted the detection and characterization of their principal synaptic input (i.e., zinc-containing boutons). Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)-immunostained sections in one of the species studied allowed the identification of GABA-immunoreactive somata which had the same morphology and ultrastructure as long-spined neurons; these GABA-immunoreactive somata and their processes were found in the same location as long-spined neurons. This suggests that at least some long-spined polymorphic neurons are GABA-ergic and presumably inhibitory. Finally, the neurobiological significance of these long-spined neurons is discussed and briefly compared with that of similar neurons of the hilus of the fascia dentata of the rat.