Elsevier

Brain Research

Volume 214, Issue 1, 9 June 1981, Pages 43-60
Brain Research

Efferent connections of the subthalamic region in the rat. II. The zona incerta

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-8993(81)90437-6Get rights and content

Summary

The efferent connections of the zona incerta (ZI) were studied experimentally in the rat by the aid of the autoradiographic tracer technique.

Small microelectrophoretic injections of tritiated proline and leucine practically confined to the ZI were found to label a widespread, predominantly ipsilateral system of descending and ascending fibers distributed to reticular structures of the brain stem (mesencephalic reticular formation, nucleus tegmenti pedunculopontinus pars compacta, parabrachial area, nuclei reticularis pontis oralis, pontis caudalis, gigantocellularis and medullae oblongatae, pars ventralis), precerebellar nuclei (nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis, pontine nuclei and inferior olivary complex), the middle and deep layers of the superior colliculus, the pretectum (anterior, posterior and medial pretectal nuclei), perioculomotor nuclei (interstitial nucleus of Cajal, nucleus of Darkschewitsch and nuclei of the posterior commissure), the parvocellular portion of the red nucleus, the central gray substance, the nucleus tegmenti dorsalis lateralis, the ventral horn of the cervical spinal cord, non-specific thalamic nuclei (parafascicular, centralis medius, paracentralis centralis lateralis and ventromedial thalamic nuclei, nucleus reuniens), basal ganglia (entopeduncular nucleus and globus pallidus), hypothalamic structures (posterior hypothalamic nucleus, dorsal and lateral hypothalamic areas), and a subpallidal district of the substantia innominata. Isotope injections centered in Forel's field H1 resulted in the labeling of a similar set of projections. Some of the possible functional correlates of these connections are briefly discussed.

References (95)

  • EmmersR.

    Dual alterations of thalamic nociceptive activity by stimulation of the periaqueductal gray matter

    Exp. Neurol.

    (1979)
  • FukushimaK. et al.

    Direct excitation of neck flexor motoneurons by the interstitiospinal tract

    Brain Research

    (1979)
  • GraybielA.M.

    Organization of the nigrotectal connection: an experimental tracer study in the cat

    Brain Research

    (1978)
  • GraybielA.M. et al.

    A microelectrophoretic delivery technique for use with horseradish peroxidase

    Brain Research

    (1974)
  • GraybielA.M. et al.

    Some afferent connections of the oculomotor complex in the cat: an experimental study with tracer techniques

    Brain Research

    (1974)
  • GrofováI. et al.

    Mesencephalic and diencephalic afferents to the superior colliculus and periaqueductal gray substance demonstrated by retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase in the cat

    Brain Research

    (1978)
  • HaberL.H. et al.

    Effects of stimulation in nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis on the activity of spinothalamic tract neurons in the monkey

    Brain Research

    (1978)
  • HolstegeG. et al.

    Anatomical evidence for direct brain stem projections to the somatic motoneuronal cell groups and autonomic preganglionic cell groups in cat spinal cord

    Brain Research

    (1979)
  • HuangY.H. et al.

    Neural pathways mediating drinking and feeding in rats

    Exp. Neurol.

    (1972)
  • KaelberW.W.

    Subthalamic nociceptive stimulation in the cat: effect of secondary lesions and rostral fiber projections

    Exp. Neurol.

    (1977)
  • KaelberW.W. et al.

    Projections of the zona incerta in the cat, with stimulation controls

    Exp. Neurol.

    (1979)
  • KuypersH.G.J.M. et al.

    Retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase from spinal cord to brain stem cell groups in the cat

    Neurosci. Lett.

    (1975)
  • LeggC.R.

    Visual discrimination impairments after lesions in zona incerta or lateral terminal nucleus of accessory optic tract

    Brain Research

    (1979)
  • MacadarA.W. et al.

    Differentiation of brain stem loci which affect hippocampal and neocortical electrical activity

    Exp. Neurol.

    (1974)
  • McGintyD.J.

    Somnolence, recovery and hyposomnia following ventromedial diencephalic lesions in the rat

    Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.

    (1969)
  • MoruzziG. et al.

    Brain stem reticular formation and activation of the EEG

    Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.

    (1949)
  • NautaH.J.W.

    Projections of the pallidal complex: an autoradiographic study in the cat

    Neuroscience

    (1979)
  • NautaW.J.H. et al.

    The anatomy of the extrapyramidal system

  • ParmeggianiP.L. et al.

    On the functional significance of subcortical single unit activity during sleep

    Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.

    (1973)
  • PerkinsM.S. et al.

    Nerve growth factor: intense polydipsia of long duration produced by ventral diencephalic application

    Brain Research

    (1979)
  • RhodesD.L. et al.

    Analgesia from rostral brain stem stimulation in the rat

    Brain Research

    (1978)
  • RibakC.E. et al.

    An autoradiographic study of the projections from the lateral geniculate body of the rat

    Brain Research

    (1975)
  • RicardoJ.A.

    Efferent connections of the subthalamic region in the rat. I. The subthalamic nucleus of Luys

    Brain Research

    (1980)
  • RoseJ.D.

    Distribution and properties of diencephalic neuronal responses to genital stimulation in the female cat

    Exp. Neurol.

    (1978)
  • SieckG.C. et al.

    Pneumotaxic area neuronal discharge during sleep-waking states in the cat

    Exp. Neurol.

    (1980)
  • SmithD.A. et al.

    Afferent projections related to attack sites in the pontine tegmentum

    Brain Research

    (1979)
  • SomanaR. et al.

    The cerebellar projection from the parabrachial nucleus in the cat

    Brain Research

    (1979)
  • SteinB.E. et al.

    Superior colliculus cells respond to noxious stimuli

    Brain Research

    (1978)
  • TakeuchiY. et al.

    Mesencephalic and pontine afferent fiber system to the facial nucleus in the cat: a study using the horseradish peroxidase and silver impregnation techniques

    Exp. Neurol.

    (1979)
  • TohyamaM. et al.

    Spinal projections from the lower brain stem in the cat as demonstrated by the horseradish peroxidase technique. I. Origins of the reticulospinal tracts and their funicular trajectories

    Brain Research

    (1979)
  • ZemlanF.P. et al.

    Topographical organization in medullary reticulospinal systems as demonstrated by the horseradish peroxidase technique

    Brain Research

    (1979)
  • BasbaumA.I. et al.

    The origin of descending pathways in the dorsolateral funiculus of the spinal cord of the cat and rat: further studies on the anatomy of pain modulation

    J. comp. Neurol.

    (1979)
  • BerlucchiG. et al.

    Pretectum and superior colliculus in visually guided behavior and in flux and form discrimination in the cat

    J. comp. Physiol. Psychol.

    (1972)
  • BermanN.

    Connections of the pretectum in the cat

    J. comp. Neurol.

    (1977)
  • BrodalA.

    The Reticular Formation of the Brain Stem. Anatomical Aspects and Functional Correlations

  • BrownL.T.

    Rubrospinal projections in the rat

    J. comp. Neurol.

    (1974)
  • BrownJ.T. et al.

    A study of afferent input to the inferior olivary complex in the rat by retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase

    J. comp. Neurol.

    (1977)
  • Cited by (221)

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    *

    Present address: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences of the University of Sa˜o Paulo, Cx. Postal 4365, 01000 Sa˜o Paulo, SP, Brazil.

    View full text