The central connections of the anterior lateral line nerve of Gnathonemus petersii

The central connections of the lateral line nerve ganglia, the eithth nerve ganglia and the fused fifth‐seventh ganglion of Ganathonemus petersii have been studied with silver degeneration techniques. The anterior (NLLa) and posterior (NLLp) lateral line nerves have a topographically organised projection upon the posterior lateral line lobe. NLLa, representing the head region, distributes to the rostral half of the posterior lobe, while NLLp, representing the trunk, distributes to the caudal half of the posterior lobe. The lateral line nerves also end in the anterior nucleus of the anterior lobe. There is some overlap within the middle third of the anterior nucleus, although NLLp tends to have a more caudal distribution than NLLa. N VIII terminates within n. tangentialis and n. octavius; there appears to be little or no overlap between VIII and lateral line nerve territories. The V–VIIth ganglion projects to entirely different parts of the brainstem. Terminal areas of V–VII are the sensory nucleus of the vagus, the nucleus of the descending trigeminus, and the funicular nuclei.