Afferent projections to nucleus reuniens of the thalamus
The nucleus reuniens (RE) is the largest of the midline nuclei of the thalamus and the major source of thalamic afferents to the hippocampus and parahippocampal structures. Nucleus reuniens has recently been shown to exert powerful excitatory actions on CA1 of the hippocampus. Few reports on any spe...
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Published in | Journal of comparative neurology (1911) Vol. 480; no. 2; pp. 115 - 142 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Hoboken
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company
06.12.2004
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The nucleus reuniens (RE) is the largest of the midline nuclei of the thalamus and the major source of thalamic afferents to the hippocampus and parahippocampal structures. Nucleus reuniens has recently been shown to exert powerful excitatory actions on CA1 of the hippocampus. Few reports on any species have examined afferent projections to nucleus reuniens. By using the retrograde anatomical tracer Fluorogold, we examined patterns of afferent projections to RE in the rat. We showed that RE receives a diverse and widely distributed set of afferents projections. The main sources of input to nucleus reuniens were from the orbitomedial, insular, ectorhinal, perirhinal, and retrosplenial cortices; CA1/subiculum of hippocampus; claustrum, tania tecta, lateral septum, substantia innominata, and medial and lateral preoptic nuclei of the basal forebrain; medial nucleus of amygdala; paraventricular and lateral geniculate nuclei of the thalamus; zona incerta; anterior, ventromedial, lateral, posterior, supramammillary, and dorsal premammillary nuclei of the hypothalamus; and ventral tegmental area, periaqueductal gray, medial and posterior pretectal nuclei, superior colliculus, precommissural/commissural nuclei, nucleus of the posterior commissure, parabrachial nucleus, laterodorsal and pedunculopontine tegmental nuclei, nucleus incertus, and dorsal and median raphe nuclei of the brainstem. The present findings of widespread projections to RE, mainly from limbic/limbic‐associated structures, suggest that nucleus reuniens represents a critical relay in the transfer of limbic information (emotional/cognitive) from RE to its major targets, namely, to the hippocampus and orbitomedial prefrontal cortex. RE appears to be a major link in the two‐way exchange of information between the hippocampus and the medial prefrontal cortex. J. Comp. Neurol. 480:115–142, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. |
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Bibliography: | istex:03B89A3F8E16AE27D8F99443637976C7B3522CB1 National Institute of Mental Health - No. MH63519; No. MH01476 ark:/67375/WNG-W8C2B2TS-P ArticleID:CNE20342 ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 0021-9967 1096-9861 |
DOI: | 10.1002/cne.20342 |