Figure 1.
Vagal afferents convey visceral information to the NTS, the major visceral relay nucleus of the brainstem. The NTS issues a direct projection to forebrain areas such as the amygdala and basal forebrain and can also activate the ascending noradrenergic system arising in the locus coeruleus noradrenergic system (LC). The LC, in turn, projects to the basal forebrain cholinergic system as well as to the amygdala and the cortex. There are thus several routes by which oxytocin acting on ascending visceral information can impact cortical/cognitive processing. Reciprocal interactions between the amygdala and basal forebrain, together with their overlapping targets in the medial prefrontal cortex, constitute important processing substrates for the processing of anxiogenic stimuli. AMY, Amygdala; OT, oxytocin; PVN, paraventricular nucleus; BF, basal forebrain cholinergic system; BNST, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.