Topographical organization of projections from the entorhinal cortex to the striatum of the rat
Section snippets
Experimental procedures
In this study, female Wistar rats (160–350 g) were anaesthetized either with Equithesin (0.25 M chloral hydrate: 9.7 mg/ml pentobarbitone sodium: 0.3 ml/100 g, i.p.) or a 4:3 mixture (1 ml/kg, i.m.) of 1% ketamine hydrochloride (Vetelar, U.K.) and 2% xylazine (Rompun, Bayer, Belgium). Each animal was placed in a stereotaxic apparatus and the skull opened. Using coordinates derived from the atlas of Paxinos and Watson,[42]microinjections of biocytin (n=12) or biotinylated dextran amine (BDA; n=20)
Results
The term entorhinal area, as used in this study, includes the medial (MEC) and lateral (LEC) entorhinal cortices and the perirhinal cortex.[29]MEC and LEC divisions, as determined by others,2, 22were identified in a series of Nissl-stained sections of our material (Fig. 1A). The MEC and rostral part of the EC have a less distinct lamination, due to a thinner layer II and clumping of neurons in layer III. The lamina dissecans is either small or absent. The LEC at the same level has a wider layer
Discussion
The main goal of this study was to examine, in detail, the fibre trajectories and topography of the terminal fields of entorhinal neurons in relation to the neostriatum and compartmental subdivisions of the nucleus accumbens in the ventral striatum. Anatomical evidence that the EC projects to the striatum has been presented in the past for rat,6, 28, 48, 55, 62cat[61]and guinea-pig.[54]The existence of these projections is also supported by physiological investigations.[13]All studies agree
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Peter Kellaghan, and Drs Hong Lin and Thomas Farrell, for technical assistance and discussion. We are also indebted to Dr Ben Yee for helpful suggestions and advice, and to Professor Barry Roberts and Dr Richard Greene for critical comments on the manuscript. Further, we are grateful to the Media Services Department of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland for their assistance with the photomicrographs. The work was funded by a Wellcome Trust project grant, no.
References (68)
Afferent connections of the entorhinal area in the rat as demonstrated by retrograde cell-labelling with horseradish peroxidase
Brain Res.
(1978)- et al.
Reduced temporal limbic structure volumes on magnetic resonance images in first episode schizophrenia
Psychiat. Res.—Neuroimaging
(1990) - et al.
Stereotypies elicited by injection of N-propylnorapomorphine into striatal subregions and nucleus accumbens
Brain Res.
(1989) - et al.
Pharmacological characterization of dopamine systems in the nucleus accumbens core and shell
Neuroscience
(1992) - et al.
Regionally specific effects of atypical antipsychotic drugs on striatal Fos expression: the nucleus accumbens shell as a locus of antipsychotic action
Molec. cell. Neurosci.
(1992) - et al.
Limbic pathology in schizophrenia: the entorhinal region—a morphometric study
Biol. Psychiat.
(1988) - et al.
From an animal model of an attentional deficit towards new insights into the pathophysiology of schizophrenia
J. psychiat. Res.
(1992) - et al.
Neurophysiology and neuropharmacology of projections for entorhinal cortex to striatum in the rat
Brain Res.
(1995) - et al.
Organisation of the projection from the subiculum to the ventral striatum in the rat. A study using anterograde transport of Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin
Neuroscience
(1987) - et al.
Specificity in the projection patterns of accumbal core and shell in the rat
Neuroscience
(1991)
Regional differences in the regulation of acetylcholine release upon D-2 dopamine and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor activation in rat nucleus accumbens and neostriatum
Brain Res.
Differential effects of dopamine depletion on the binding and mRNA levels of dopamine receptors in the shell and core of the rat nucleus accumbens
Molec. Brain Res.
Improved retrograde axonal transport and subsequent visualization of tetramethylrhodamine (TMR)–dextran amine by means of acidic injection vehicle and antibodies against TMR
J. Neurosci. Meth.
Excitatory amino acid receptors mediate the orofacial stereotypy elicited by dopaminergic stimulation of the ventrolateral striatum
Neuroscience
A projection from the entorhinal cortex to the nucleus accumbens in the rat
Brain Res.
The distribution and compartmental organization of the cholinergic neurons in nucleus accumbens of the rat
Neuroscience
Morphological differences between projection neurons of the core and shell in the nucleus accumbens of the rat
Neuroscience
From motivation to action: functional interface between the limbic system and the motor system
Prog. Neurobiol.
A study of the contribution of hippocampal–accumbens–subpallidal projections to locomotor activity
Behav. neural Biol.
Neuropharmacological evidence to suggest that the nucleus accumbens and subpallidal region contribute to exploratory locomotion
Behav. neural Biol.
Differential membrane properties and dopamine effects in the shell and core of the rat nucleus accumbens studied in vitro
Neurosci. Lett.
The nucleus accumbens as a complex of functionally distinct neuronal ensembles; an integration of behavioural, electrophysiological and anatomical data
Prog. Neurobiol.
Neurochemical correlates of brain-stimulation reward measured by ex vivo and in vivo analyses
Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev.
The topographic order of inputs to the nucleus accumbens in the rat
Neuroscience
Peptides, the limbic lobe and schizophrenia
Brain Res.
Biotinylated dextran amine as an anterograde tracer for single- and double-labeling studies
J. Neurosci. Meth.
The anterograde neuroanatomical tracer biotinylated dextran-amine: comparison with the tracer Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin in preparations for electron microscopy
J. Neurosci. Meth.
Cholecystokinin innervation of the ventral striatum: a morphological and radioimmunological study
Neuroscience
On the significance of subterritories in the “accumbens” part of the rat ventral striatum
Neuroscience
Some cytoarchitectural abnormalities of the entorhinal cortex in schizophrenia
Archs gen. Psychiat.
Entorhinal–hippocampal interaction in mnestic disorders
Hippocampus
The patterns of afferent innervation of the core and shell in the “accumbens” part of the rat ventral striatum: immunohistochemical detection of retrogradely transported fluoro-gold
J. comp. Neurol.
Prefrontal cortical dopamine systems and the elaboration of functional corticostriatal circuits: implications for schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease
J. neural Transm.
Cited by (93)
Ascending monoaminergic systems alterations in Alzheimer's disease. Translating basic science into clinical care
2013, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral ReviewsCitation Excerpt :Superficial layers (II and III) represent the output structure towards the hippocampus (mainly to the DG and CA3) and other cortical areas. These layers receive inputs from deep (V and VI) layers of EC, the amygdala, the thalamus, and the frontal cortex (Coutureau and Di Scala, 2009; Hyman et al., 1984; Totterdell and Meredith, 1997). EC cells express both α and β-ARs.
Neural systems analysis of decision making during goal-directed navigation
2012, Progress in NeurobiologyCitation Excerpt :More specifically, the dorsal subiculum (and CA1) project primarily to the rostro-lateral shell region of the nucleus accumbens, while the ventral subiculum (and CA1) selectively terminate throughout the rostral–caudal extent of the accumbens shell. Entorhinal cortex also provides extensive input to the nucleus accumbens, with the MEC preferentially innervating the rostro-medial shell and core divisions of the accumbens, and the LEC terminating throughout the rostral–caudal extent of the lateral shell and core regions (Totterdell and Meredith, 1997). It should be noted that the limbic input to the ventral striatum (including the nucleus accumbens) is one of a number of convergent inputs to individual ventral striatal neurons (e.g., Floresco et al., 2001; French and Totterdell, 2002; Goto and O’Donnell, 2002; O’Donnell and Grace, 1995).
The ventral basal ganglia, a selection mechanism at the crossroads of space, strategy, and reward
2010, Progress in NeurobiologyNeural basis of psychosis-related behaviour in the infection model of schizophrenia
2009, Behavioural Brain Research