An experimental study of the ventral striatum of the golden hamster. I. Neuronal connections of the nucleus accumbens
- 15 May 1980
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Comparative Neurology
- Vol. 191 (2), 167-192
- https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.901910203
Abstract
As part of an experimental study of the ventral striatum, the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) method was used to examine the afferent and efferent neuronal connections of the nucleus accumbens. Following iontophoretic applications or hydraulic injections of HRP in nucleus accumbens, cells labeled by retrograde transport of HRP were observed in the ipsilateral telencephalon in the posterior agranular insular, perirhinal, entorhinal, and primary olfactory cortices, in the subiculum and hippocampal field CA1, and in the anterior and posterior divisions of the basolateral amygdaloid nucleus. In the diencephalon, labeled neurons were present ipsilaterally in the central medial, paracentral and parafascicular intralaminar nuclei, and in the midline nuclei parataenialis, paraventricularis, and reuniens. Retrograde labeling was observed in the ipsilateral brainstem in cells of the ventral tegmental area and dorsal raphe. Many of these projections to nucleus accumbens were found to be topographically organized. Anterograde transport of HRP from nucleus accumbens demonstrated ipsilateral terminal fields in the ventral pallidum and substantia nigra, pars reticulata. The afferent projections to nucleus accumbens from the posterior insular and perirhinal neocortices, intralaminar thalamus, and the dopamine-containing ventral tegmental area are analogous to the connections of the caudatoputamen, as are the efferents from nucleus accumbens to the substantia nigra and ventral globus pallidus. These connections substantiate the classification of nucleus accumbens as a striatal structure and provide support for the recently proposed concept of the ventral striatum. Furthermore, the demonstration that a number of limbic system structures, including the amygdala, hippocampal formation, entorhinal cortex, and olfactory cortex are important sources of afferents to the nucleus accumbens, suggests that the ventral striatum may serve to integrate limbic information into the striatal system.This publication has 52 references indexed in Scilit:
- An experimental study of the ventral striatum of the golden hamster. II. Neuronal connections of the olfactory tubercleJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1980
- A description of the amygdaloid complex in the rat and cat with observations on intra-amygdaloid axonal connectionsJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1978
- Amygdaloid projections to subcortical structures within the basal forebrain and brainstem in the rat and catJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1978
- Autoradiographic tracing of nucleus accumbens efferents in the ratBrain Research, 1976
- An autoradiographic study of the efferent connections of the preoptic region in the ratJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1976
- Retrograde axonal transport and the demonstration of non‐specific projections to the cerebral cortex and striatum from thalamic intralaminar nuclei in the rat, cat and monkeyJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1974
- Differential Efferent Projections from the Ventral and Dorsal Hippocampus of the CatBrain, Behavior and Evolution, 1971
- The nuclear pattern and fiber connections of certain basal telencephalic centers in the macaqueJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1945
- The stria terminalis, longitudinal association bundle and precommissural fornix fibers in the catJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1943
- The corpus striatum, amygdala, and stria terminals of Tamandua tetradactylaJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1930