Substance P-like immunoreactivity in the parietal eye visual system of the lizard Uta stansburiana

We examined the parietal eye visual system of the iguanid lizard Uta stansburiana for the presence of substance P-like immunoreactivity by use of both immunofluorescence and peroxidase-antiperoxidase techniques. In the parietal eye no substance P-containing somata were found; however, its plexiform layer contained small (ca. 1 micron diam) immunoreactive fibers. These fibers apparently originate outside the parietal eye. Immunoreactive fibers also were found in the parietal nerve, the dorsal sac, and the leptomeninx of the pineal gland. No labeled somata were observed in any of these regions in either normal or colchicine treated animals. Previously we demonstrated that a system of centrifugal fibers to the parietal eye originates from neurons in the dorsal sac (Engbretson et al. 1981). The apparent absence of substance P-containing neurons in the dorsal sac suggests that the substance P-containing fibers in the parietal eye are not the previously observed centrifugal fibers. The source of the substance P-containing fibers in the parietal eye is unknown. The pars dorsolateralis of the left medial habenular nucleus receives a dense substance P-positive projection. No such projection was seen in the right habenula. Simultaneous visualization of the terminals of ganglion cells of the parietal eye (labeled with orthograde intraaxonally transported horseradish peroxidase) and substance P-like immunofluorescence showed that the locus of habenular immunoreactivity is distinct from the projection field of the parietal eye. Thus the substance P-positive terminals in the habenula do not originate in the parietal eye. Transection of the parietal nerve confirmed this conclusion.