The course of neural projection from the prefrontal cortex to the nucleus accumbens in the rat
Section snippets
Experimental procedures
The courses of projection of corticostrital neurons from the PFC to the NAc were analysed in 12 young male Sprague–Dawley rats (University of British Columbia animal colony) weighing 90–130 g and 10 older rats weighing 250–290 g. We used both young and older adult rats because for preparing brain slices for our electrophysiological experiments, younger rats were used (90–130 g), since younger cortices appear to be less sensitive to anoxia. We also used older adult rats (250–290 g) because the
Injection sites
The deposits of BDA in the PFC created a spherical to ovoid zone, with clearly visible BDA-labeled cell bodies and dendrites of the pyramidal cells (Fig. 1). The diameter of the injected area varied from 300 to 500 μm. Most of the injections were restricted to deep layers V and VI, although injections involving both deep and superficial layers were also included in the analysis.
The deposits of BDA in the prelimbic cortex were located in: (i)the rostral part (n=5 rats), (ii) the dorsomedial part (
Methodological considerations
BDA is a useful anterograde tracer that has been shown to be readily transported over long distances and to reveal fine details of terminal structures in various species.4, 45In rats, the reported quality of terminal labeling by anterogradely transported BDA was very similar to those using Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin with upper cervical spinal cord injections. In monkeys, however, BDA injections at the upper cervical spinal cord level resulted in more widespread and dense anterograde
Summary and conclusions
Results from this study have indicated that (Fig. 12):
- 1.
Axonal fibers emerged from the rostral prelimbic region, spreading diversely and projecting at an angle of ≈60° to the horizontal plane, through the rostrocaudal extent of the infralimbic region, and mainly entered the rostral pole of the medial NAc. Many fibers also chose a ventral route (heavier) to enter the “core” of the NAc.
- 2.
Axonal fibers from the central–ventral prelimbic region fanned out from their origin and descended down directly
Acknowledgements
We are most grateful to Dr Susan Sesack of the University of Pittsburgh for her suggestions and advice in the use of the tracer biotin–dextran amine in this study. Funding for this research was provided by the British Columbia Health Research Foundation (B.C.H.R.F.) and the Medical Research Council of Canada. C.R.Y. is a B.C.H.R.F. Scholar.
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