The catecholamine pontine cellular groups locus coeruleus, A4, subcoeruleus in the primate Cebus apella

The distrubution of CA neurons of areas A6 and A4 was delineated in Cebus apella monkey using the fluorescent histochemical technique of Falck and Hillarp. Cytospectroscopy was utilized for CA differentiation. The noradrenergic cellular regions A6, A4, and subcoeruleus have extensively increased in size in the Cebus as compared to the rat and appear to be separate nuclear regions. Area A4 is made up of two cellular subgroups: a more abundant lateral magnocellular area with cells as large as 45 mum and a smaller medial parvocellular group where the neurons are spindle-shaped and lie within 10-100 mum of the ependyma. The neuronal processes of A4 tend to be directed towards the flocculus and paraflocculus of the cerebellum. Some processes seem to enter the ependyma and others end subependymally. The functional significance of the pontine CA neurons is discussed.