Unit responses evoked in the amygdala and striatum by electrical stimulation of the medial geniculate body

• Published in: The Journal of neuroscience Vol. 10; no. 4; pp. 1055 - 1061
• Main Authors: Clugnet, MC, LeDoux, JE, Morrison, SF
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Soc Neuroscience 01.04.1990; Society for Neuroscience
• Subjects: Amygdala - cytology; Amygdala - physiology; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Central nervous system; Corpus Striatum - cytology; Corpus Striatum - physiology; Electric Stimulation; Electrophysiology; Evoked Potentials; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Geniculate Bodies - cytology; Geniculate Bodies - physiology; Neural Inhibition; Neurons - physiology; Rats; Reaction Time; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Brain; Rat; Internal geniculate body; Electrical stimulus; Rodentia; Discharge pattern; Central nervous system; Electrophysiology; Corpus striatum; Vertebrata; Unit response; Mammalia; Evoked potential; Amygdaloid nucleus
• ISSN: 0270-6474; 1529-2401
• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.10-04-01055.1990

Unit activity was recorded from cells and cell clusters in the amygdala and striatum in response to electrical stimulation of the medial geniculate body (MGB) in rats anesthetized with chloral hydrate. Responses were mostly excitatory and were evoked against a relatively silent background (i.e., the units seldom fired between stimuli). The shortest latency responses were recorded in the caudate putamen (CPU), lateral amygdaloid nucleus (AL), and amygdalostriatal transition area (AST). Longer latency responses were obtained from neurons in the basolateral (ABL), basomedial (ABM), and central (ACE) nuclei of the amygdala. Moreover, while responses were evoked in AL, AST, and CPU with 300-500 microA stimuli delivered once every 10 sec, more intense and higher-frequency stimuli were required to obtain responses in ABL, ABM, and ACE. These findings are consistent with anatomical tracing studies showing that AL, AST, and CPU receive direct projections from the MGB and related acoustic processing areas of the thalamus but that ACE, ABL, and ABM do not.