ABSTRACT
The distribution of GABA and/or glycine like immunoreactive nerve terminals on the soma of the masseteric gamma motoneurons were investigated using retrograde tracing of WGA-HRP (wheat germ agglutinin conjugated horseradish peroxidase) and postembedding immunogold labeling methods in serial ultrathin sections. Quantitative analysis of 140 nerve terminals apposing on somata of gamma motoneuron size less than 21 mm in average diameter was performed. The results obtained were as follows. 1. Synaptic covering % of apposing nerve terminals was 21.45+/-11.48% and packing density was 12.85+/-6.17. 2. Nerve terminals immunoreactive (IR) to GABA or glycine were F type containing pleomorphic vesicles with round shape predominant. Majority of nerve terminals immunonegative to GABA or glycine were S type containing spherical vesicles and few of them were F type. 3. 11.42+/-10.00% of examined nerve terminals were IR to GABA only, and 12.71+/-9.85% were IR to GABA and glycine, and 15.21+/-9.58% were IR to glycine only. 4. Synaptic covering % of nerve terminals IR to glycine only was highest (4.58+/-4.50%), followed in order by GABA and glycine (3.18+/-2.77%), and GABA only (2.38+/-2.06%). 5. Among all terminals, immunonegative nerve terminals (60.66+/-14.65%) were much more than nerve terminals immunoreactive to GABA and/or glycine (39.34+/-14.65%) These results show that inhibitory synaptic input and synaptic organization of the masseteric gamma motoneurons reveal characteristic features in contrast to that of alpha motoneurons and which may correlated to the electrophysi-ological characteristics of masseteric gamma motoneurons.