Rapid refilling of neurosecretory terminals with secretory granules after an acute stimulus to the isolated neural lobe of the rat

Summary Quantitative ultrastructural techniques were used to study changes in the distribution of intracellular organelles in neurosecretory terminals of the rat neurohypophysis during recovery from a depolarising stimulus in vitro. The volumetric density of neurosecretory granules which, in profiles of nerve terminals sectioned through the area of contact with the basal lamina, was decreased as a result of stimulation, returned to control values within 2 h after cessation of stimulation. We conclude that, even in the absence of the cell body and action potentials propagated from it, granules can migrate quickly within the terminal region of the neurosecretory axons to refill a depleted compartment.