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The Journal of Neuroscience, December 1, 2002, 22(23):10449-10460

Projection to the Inferior Colliculus from the Basal Nucleus of the Amygdala

Robert A. Marsh¹, Zoltan M. Fuzessery², Carol D. Grose¹, and Jeffrey J. Wenstrup¹

¹ Department of Neurobiology and Pharmacology, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown, Ohio 44272, and ² Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071

This report describes a projection from the amygdala, a forebrain center mediating emotional expression, to the inferior colliculus (IC), the midbrain integration center of the ascending auditory system. In the IC of mustached bats (Pteronotus parnellii) and pallid bats (Antrozous pallidus), we placed deposits of retrograde tracers at physiologically defined sites and then searched for retrogradely labeled somata in the forebrain. Labeling was most sensitive in experiments using cholera toxin B-subunit as tracer.

We consistently observed retrograde labeling in a single amygdalar subdivision, the magnocellular subdivision of the basal nucleus (Bmg). The Bmg is distinctive across mammals, containing the largest cells in the amygdala and the most intense acetylcholinesterase staining. Labeled amygdalar cells occurred ipsilateral and contralateral to IC deposits, but ipsilateral labeling was greater, averaging 72%. Amygdalar labeling was observed after tracer deposits throughout the IC, including its central nucleus (ICC). In comparison, labeling in the auditory cortex (layer V) was heavily ipsilateral (averaging 92%). Cortical labeling depended on the location of IC deposits: dorsomedial deposits resulted in the most labeled cells, whereas ventrolateral deposits labeled few or no cortical cells. Cortical labeling occurred after several deposits in the ICC. Across experiments, the average number of labeled cells in the amygdala was similar to that in the auditory cortex, indicating that the amygdalocollicular projection is significant.

The results demonstrate a direct, widespread projection from the basal amygdala to the IC. They also suggest the presence of a rapid thalamoamygdalocollicular feedback circuit that may impose emotional content onto processing of sensory stimuli at a relatively low level of an ascending sensory pathway.

Key words: amygdala; auditory pathways; auditory cortex; bat; chiroptera; cholera toxin; emotion; inferior colliculus

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Copyright © 2002 Society for Neuroscience  0270-6474/02/222310449-12$05.00/0

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. C. Peterson, S. Voytenko, D. Gans, A. Galazyuk, and J. Wenstrup Intracellular Recordings From Combination-Sensitive Neurons in the Inferior Colliculus J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2008; 100(2): 629 - 645. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. M. Bajo, F. R. Nodal, J. K. Bizley, D. R. Moore, and A. J. King The Ferret Auditory Cortex: Descending Projections to the Inferior Colliculus Cereb Cortex, February 1, 2007; 17(2): 475 - 491. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. R. Metzger, N. T. Greene, K. K. Porter, and J. M. Groh Effects of reward and behavioral context on neural activity in the primate inferior colliculus. J. Neurosci., July 12, 2006; 26(28): 7468 - 7476. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. A. Marsh, K. Nataraj, D. Gans, C. V. Portfors, and J. J. Wenstrup Auditory Responses in the Cochlear Nucleus of Awake Mustached Bats: Precursors to Spectral Integration in the Auditory Midbrain J Neurophysiol, January 1, 2006; 95(1): 88 - 105. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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