Pineal Photoreceptor and Ganglion Cells in River Lamprey, Lampetra japonica -Two Types of Pineal Ganglion Cell-

Pineal organs of poikilotherm vertebrates transform the environmental light information into a humoral message and a neuronal activity. The former is melatonin, and the latter is modulation of the impulse in ganglion cells. The ganglion cells are physiologically classified into luminosity (achromatic) type and chromatic one, as the neural activity is modulated in two ways. We attempted to classify the pineal ganglion cells with morphological characteristics by means of the three- dimensional reconstruction method. In the pineal ganglion cells of river lamprey, there are two different features, oval and spherical. For comparison of their projection region in the brain, the tracing investigation was also carried out. The application of the neural tracer near mesencephalic tegmentum showed that only oval-shaped ganglion cells were labeled in the pineal organ. These results suggest that the oval-shaped ganglion cell is functionally different from the spherical one.