Summary
Potentially convergent inputs to cerebellar-receiving and basal ganglia-receiving areas of the thalamus were identified using horseradish peroxidase (HRP) retrograde tracing techniques. HRP was deposited iontophoretically into the ventroanterior (VA), ventromedial (VM), and ventrolateral (VL) thalamic nuclei in the cat. The relative numbers of labeled neurons in the basal ganglia and the cerebellar nuclei were used to assess the extent to which the injection was in cerebellar-receiving or basal ganglia-receiving portions of thalamus. The rostral pole of VA showed reciprocal connections with prefrontal portions of the cerebral cortex. Only the basal ganglia and the hypothalamus provided non-thalamic input to modulate these cortico-thalamo-cortical loops. In VM, there were reciprocal connections with prefrontal, premotor, and insular areas of the cerebral cortex. The basal ganglia (especially the substantia nigra), and to a lesser extent, the posterior and ventral portions of the deep cerebellar nuclei, provided input to VM and may modulate these corticothalamo-cortical loops. The premotor cortical areas connected to VM include those associated with eye movements, and afferents from the superior colliculus, a region of documented importance in oculomotor control, also were labeled by injections into VM. The dorsolateral portion of the VA-VL complex primarily showed reciprocal connections with the medial premotor (area 6) cortex. Basal ganglia and cerebellar afferents both may modulate this cortico-thalamo-cortical loop, although they do not necessarily converge on the same thalamic neurons. The cerebellar input to dorsolateral VA-VL was from posterior and ventral portions of the cerebellar nuclei, and the major potential brainstem afferents to this region of thalamus were from the pretectum. Mid- and caudo-lateral portions of VL had reciprocal connections with primary motor cortex (area 4). The dorsal and anterior portions of the cerebellar nuclei had a dominant input to this corticothalamo-cortical loop. Potentially converging brainstem afferents to this portion of VL were from the pretectum, especially pretectal areas to which somatosensory afferents project.
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Abbreviations
- AC:
-
central amygdaloid nucleus
- AL:
-
lateral amygdaloid nucleus
- AM:
-
anteromedial thalamic nucleus
- AV:
-
anteroventral thalamic nucleus
- BC:
-
brachium conjunctivum
- BIC:
-
brachium of the inferior colliculus
- Cd:
-
caudate nucleus
- CL:
-
centrolateral thalamic nucleus
- CM:
-
centre median nucleus
- CP:
-
cerebral peduncle
- CUN:
-
cuneate nucleus
- DBC:
-
decussation of the brachium conjunctivum
- DR:
-
dorsal raphe nuclei
- EC:
-
external cuneate nucleus
- ENTO:
-
entopeduncular nucleus
- FN:
-
fastigial nucleus
- FX:
-
fornix
- GP:
-
globus pallidus
- GR:
-
gracile nucleus
- IC:
-
internal capsule
- ICP:
-
inferior cerebellar peduncle
- IP:
-
interpeduncular nucleus
- IVN:
-
inferior vestibular nucleus
- LD:
-
lateral dorsal thalamic nucleus
- LGN:
-
lateral geniculate nucleus
- LH:
-
lateral hypothalamus
- LP:
-
lateral posterior thalamic complex
- LRN:
-
lateral reticular nucleus
- LVN:
-
lateral vestibular nucleus
- MB:
-
mammillary body
- MD:
-
mediodorsal thalamic nucleus
- MG:
-
medial geniculate nucleus
- ML:
-
medial lemniscus
- MLF:
-
medial lengitudinal fasciculus
- MT:
-
mammillothalamic tract
- MVN:
-
medial vestibular nucleus
- NDBB:
-
nucleus of the diagonal band of Broca
- NIA:
-
anterior nucleus interpositus
- NIP:
-
posterior nucleus interpositus
- OD:
-
optic decussation
- OT:
-
optic tract
- PAC:
-
paracentral thalamic nucleus
- PPN:
-
pedunculopontine region
- PRO:
-
gyrus proreus
- PRT:
-
pretectal region
- PT:
-
pyramidal tract
- PTA:
-
anterior pretectal region
- PTM:
-
medial pretectal region
- PTO:
-
olivary pretectal nucleus
- PTP:
-
poterior pretectal region
- Pul:
-
pulvinar nucleus
- Put:
-
putamen
- RF:
-
reticular formation
- RN:
-
red nucleus
- Rt:
-
reticular complex of the thalamus
- S:
-
solitary tract
- SCi:
-
superior colliculus, intermediate gray
- SN:
-
substantia nigra
- ST:
-
subthalamic nucleus
- VA:
-
ventroanterior thalamic nucleus
- VB:
-
ventrobasal complex
- VL:
-
ventrolateral thalamic nucleus
- VM:
-
ventromedial thalamic nucleus
- III:
-
oculomotor nucleus
- IIIn:
-
oculomotor nerve
- 5S:
-
spinal trigeminal nucleus
- 5T:
-
spinal trigeminal tract
- VII:
-
facial nucleus
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Anderson, M.E., DeVito, J.L. An analysis of potentially converging inputs to the rostral ventral thalamic nuclei of the cat. Exp Brain Res 68, 260–276 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00248792
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00248792