Studies on a primitive cerebellar cortex I. The anatomy of the lateral-line lobes of the dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula

The lateral-line lobes of the dogfish hind-brain were examined with the light microscope. The anterior and posterior lobes, which are the projection sites of the lateral-line nerves, comprise a complex neuropil covered by a molecular layer that consists of unmyelinated axons, dendrites and small stellate-like interneurones. The second order neurone is a large, elongate cell which has ventrally-directed smooth dendrites that extend throughout the neuropil and connect with the lateral-line afferent fibres, as well as spiny dendrites that run dorsally into the molecular layer. The molecular layer has the same organization as the cerebellar molecular layer, but in other features the lateral-line lobes are quite unlike the true cerebellum.