Summary
Ascending projections from the nucleus of the brachium of the inferior colliculus (NBIC) in the cat were studied by the autoradiographic tracing method. Many fibers from the NBIC ascend ipsilaterally in the lateral tegmentum along the medial border of the brachium of the inferior colliculus. At midbrain levels, fibers from the NBIC end in the superior colliculus, the pretectum, the central gray and the peripeduncular tegmental region bilaterally with ipsilateral predominance. NBIC fibers to the superior colliculus are distributed densely to laminae VI an III throughout the whole rostrocaudal extent of the colliculus. In the pretectum, NBIC fibers terminate in the anterior and medial nuclei and the nucleus of the posterior commissure. NBIC fibers to the dorsal thalamus are distributed largely ipsilaterally. Many NBIC fibers end in the dorsal and medial divisions of the medial geniculate body, but few in the ventral division. The NBIC also sends fibers to the suprageniculate, limitans and lateralis posterior nuclei and the lateral portion of the posterior nuclear complex; these regions of termination of NBIC fibers constitute, as a whole, a single NBIC recipient sector. Additionally, the NBIC sends fibers to the centralis lateralis, medialis dorsalis, paraventricular and subparafascicular nuclei of the thalamus.
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Abbreviations
- APtC:
-
Pars compacta of anterior pretectal nucleus
- APtR:
-
Pars reticulata of anterior pretectal nucleus
- BIC:
-
Brachium of infertior colliculus
- CG:
-
Central gray
- CL:
-
Nucleus centralis lateralis
- CP:
-
Cerebral peduncle
- D:
-
Dorsal division of medial geniculate body
- IC:
-
Inferior colliculus
- LG:
-
Lateral geniculate body
- LP:
-
Nucleus lateralis posterior
- Lim:
-
Nucleus limitans
- M:
-
Medial division of medial geniculate body
- MD:
-
Nucleus medialis dorsalis
- ML:
-
Medial lemniscus
- NBIC:
-
Nucleus of brachium of inferior colliculus
- NPC:
-
Nucleus of posterior commissure
- PN:
-
Pontine nuclei
- Ppr:
-
Peripeduncular region
- Pt:
-
Pretectum
- Pbg:
-
Parabigeminal nucleus
- Pol:
-
Lateral portion of posterior nuclear complex
- Pom:
-
Medial portion of posterior nuclear complex
- Pul:
-
Pulvinar
- Pv:
-
Nucleus paraventricularis
- R:
-
Red nucleus
- SC:
-
Superior colliculus
- Sg:
-
Nucleus suprageniculatus
- Spf:
-
Nucleus subparafascicularis
- V:
-
Ventral division of medial geniculate body
- VPL:
-
Nucleus ventralis posterolateralis
- VPM:
-
Nucleus ventralis posteromedialis
- II,III,IV,VI:
-
Tectal laminae
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Kudo, M., Tashiro, T., Higo, S. et al. Ascending projections from the nucleus of the brachium of the inferior colliculus in the cat. Exp Brain Res 54, 203–211 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00236219
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00236219