The neurochemical division of the rodent nucleus accumbens into shell and core is now a widely accepted concept. However, such divisions in the primate nucleus accumbens have yet to be fully clarified and described. In the present study, the forebrains of three primates--marmoset, rhesus monkey, and human--and a Wistar rat, were immunoreacted with antibodies directed against calbindin-D28k. The patterns of immunoreactivity in the primates' ventral striatum were mapped and compared to that of rat. Calbindin staining was uneven in all species and there was no evidence of a bicompartmental organization, i.e., striosome/patch and matrix, in central parts of the nucleus. Nucleus accumbens in primates, as in rat, could be divided immunohistochemically into a crescent-shaped outer shell--medially, ventrally and laterally--and an inner core. In general, medial parts of the shell stained less intensely for calbindin than did lateral parts. However, interspecific variation in the intensity of the immunoreactive staining and the mediolateral extent of the shell was obvious. The core, which immunostained unevenly, was consistently more intensely immunoreactive than either medial or lateral shell in all species except the marmoset. These results suggest that the neurochemical subdivisions of shell and core established for nucleus accumbens of rodents are also present in primates. However, further work is needed to establish whether these territories are homologous and, if so, the full extent of that homology.

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The silver chromate precipitate present in neurons impregnated according to the Golgi-rapid and Golgi-Kopsch procedures can be stabilized by treatment with a photographic developer. In a complementary light microscopic study the stabilizing properties of various photographic developers were tested. Kodalith, Elon-ascorbic acid, HC-110, D-19 and Neutol proved to be the most successful. In the present electron microscopic study, we studied the distribution, shape and size of the particles found in Golgi-rapid and Golgi-Kopsch-impregnated neurons by treatment with each of these developers and, simultaneously, the effect of the developer on the preservation of the ultrastructural details. The reaction product after developer-treatment of Golgi-rapid material is sufficiently stable to withstand embedding and thin sectioning, whereas in Golgi-Kopsch material additional gold chloride "toning" is necessary. In Golgi-impregnated, Kodalith-, Elon-ascorbic acid-, or HC-110-treated material the formed particles are small and located in the cytoplasm, limited by the plasma membranes of the impregnated profiles. In Golgi-impregnated, D-19 treated neurons, the formed particles are relatively coarse. The majority of these particles are within cytoplasm, but particles may also lie either across or entirely outside the plasma membranes of the impregnated profiles. A large number of the small particles in Golgi impregnated, Neutol-stabilized neurons can be seen partly or entirely outside the plasma membranes of the impregnated profiles. Good original ultrastructural preservation seems to be unaffected by developer treatment. Treatment of Golgi material with sodium bromide before stabilization (bromide substitution) results in the formation of small silver particles both inside and outside the impregnated profiles. The sodium bromide step of this procedure has an adverse effect on the preservation of ultrastructural detail.

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