Microcircuitry of the mormyrid electrosensory lateral line lobe

The mormyrid electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELL) is a laminated structure in the dorsal rhombencephalon receiving topographically ordered primary sensory input from electroreceptors and corollary signals from the electromotor command nucleus. The structural basis of the integration of these and other inputs was investigated at the light and electron microscopical level using neuroanatomical tracers, immunohistochemistry and Golgi-impregnations. The ELL contains at least 14 distinct cell types. These include small granule cells receiving primary afferent input, GABA-ergic spiny interneurons and glutamatergic projection neurons integrating sensory input and descending feedback, and deep intrazonal neurons. Present knowledge of the synaptic organization of the ELL afferents and cell types allows for a preliminary scheme of its microcircuitry.