NORADRENALINE UPTAKE INTO CEREBAL CORTEX: A HISTOCHEMICAL STUDY

Abstract— Experiments are reported which illustrate, by means of the histochemical technique of F alck and H illarp , the distribution of noradrenaline in the cerebral cortex of the rat after topical application to small areas of the pia mater. The noradrenaline is accumulated in a system of fibres and cells in the cortex by a mechanism which can be blocked by desmethylimipramine, amphetamine and phenoxybenzamine, but not by reserpine. In sections from untreated cerebral cortex the fibres contain enough noradrenaline to be visible after histochemical preparation but the cells do not. However, due to the high concentrations of noradrenaline used, the specificity of the uptake into cell bodies must remain in doubt.