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The distribution of the projection from the parataenial nucleus of the thalamus to the nucleus accumbens in the rat: An autoradiographic study

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Summary

In this study the intrastriatal distribution of afferents arising from the parataenial nucleus of the thalamus was investigated. Tritiated leucine and proline injected into the parataenial nucleus was found to densely label the entire anterior-posterior extent of the medial nucleus accumbens. The projection was for the most part limited to this striatal subregion, although some moderate labelling was found along the medial wall of the anterior caudateputamen. The terminal labelling within accumbens was characterized by a distinct patchiness. Other efferent connections of the parataenial nucleus observed in this study include the thalamic reticular nucleus, the basolateral and central nuclei of the amygdala, the septum, the medial frontal cortex, the entorhinal cortex and subiculum.

This projection is distributed to the “limbic afferented” sector of striatum, and there is a nearly complete overlap between the parataenial afferents and those coming from hippocampus. The present findings suggest that the parataenial nucleus is an important thalamic link between limbic and striatal processing.

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Abbreviations

A:

nucleus accumbens

AC:

anterior commissure

abl:

basolateral nucleus of amygdala

abm:

basomedial nucleus of amygdala

ac:

central nucleus of amygdala

am:

medial nucleus of amygdala

al:

lateral nucleus of amygdala

bst:

bed nucleus of Stria terminalis

CAI:

internal capsule

CC:

crus cerebri

CP:

caudate-putamen

F:

fornix

FCX:

frontal cortex

FH:

fimbria hippocampi

fr:

fasciculus retroflexus

GP:

globus pallidus

IL:

infralimbic cortex

lh:

lateral habenula

MD:

mediodorsal nucleus

MFH:

medial forebrain bundle

MO:

medial orbital cortex

nb:

nucleus basalis

ot:

olfactory tubercle

Pt:

parataenial nucleus

PV:

paraventricular nucleus

sl:

lateral septum

SM:

Stria medullaris

ST:

Stria terminalis

tam:

anterior medial nucleus

tav:

anterior ventral nucleus

tol:

nucleus of lateral olfactory tract

tr:

reticular nucleus

tv:

ventral nucleus

VL:

lateral ventricle

VIII :

third ventricle

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Presented in part at the Sixth European Neuroscience Congress, Malaga, Spain, 1982

New address: Psychobiologie des Comportements Adaptatifs, INSERM U. 259, Rue Camille Saint Saens, Domaine de Carreire, F-33077 Bordeaux Cedex, France

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Kelley, A.E., Stinus, L. The distribution of the projection from the parataenial nucleus of the thalamus to the nucleus accumbens in the rat: An autoradiographic study. Exp Brain Res 54, 499–512 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00235475

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00235475

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