Comparative analysis of dopamine and tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivities in the brain of two amphibians, the anuran Rana ridibunda and the urodele Pleurodeles waltlii

To gain more insight into the dopaminergic system of amphibians and the evolution of catecholaminergic systems in vertebrates in general, the distribution of dopamine and tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity was studied in the brains of the anuran Rana ridibunda and the urodele Pleurodeles waltlii. In both species, dopamine‐immunoreactive (DAi) cell bodies were observed in the olfactory bulb, the preoptic area, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the nucleus of the periventricular organ and its accompanying cells, the nucleus of the posterior tubercle, the pretectal area, the midbrain tegmentum, around the solitary tract, in the ependymal and subependymal layers along the midline of the caudal rhombencephalon, and ventral to the central canal of the spinal cord. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry revealed a similar pattern, although some differences were noted. For example, with the TH antibodies, additional cell bodies were stained in the internal granular layer of the olfactory bulb and in the isthmal region, whereas the same antibodies failed to stain the liquor contacting cells in the nucleus of the periventricular organ.