Substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area projections to cortex: Topography and collateralization

The substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area of the rat were examined by retrograde transport methods to determine the topography and collateralization patterns of projections to cortex and certain subcortical sites. The topographical relationships between cells and their terminal fields were confirmed and clarified by the horseradish peroxidase retrograde transport technique. The collateralization of axons was analyzed by the use of multiple fluorescent tracers. These experiments indicated that individual ventral tegmental area cells do not collateralize extensively to either subcortical or cortical terminal fields. Substantia nigra cells, however, give rise to more highly collateralized axons and single cells may simultaneously innervate different regions of cortex as well as subcortical sites. Substantia nigra cells can be divided with respect to their cortical collateralization patterns into three groups: (1) those that innervate cingulate cortices, (2) those that project to prefrontal and suprarhinal cortices, and (3) those that innervate entorhinal cortex.

[1]  M. Jacobson,et al.  Quantitative lineage analysis of the frog's nervous system. I. Lineages of Rohon-Beard neurons and primary motoneurons , 1984, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[2]  O. Lindvall,et al.  The organization of the ascending catecholamine neuron systems in the rat brain as revealed by the glyoxylic acid fluorescence method. , 1974, Acta physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum.

[3]  J. Fallon Collateralization of monoamine neurons: mesotelencephalic dopamine projections to caudate, septum, and frontal cortex , 1981, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[4]  J. Deniau,et al.  Electrophysiological evidence for non-dopaminergic mesocortical and mesolimbic neurons in the rat , 1980, Brain Research.

[5]  Gerard P. Smith,et al.  Mesolimbicocortical dopamine terminal fields are necessary for normal locomotor and investigatory exploration in rats , 1980, Brain Research.

[6]  J. Fallon,et al.  Catecholamine innervation of the basal forebrain III. Olfactory bulb, anterior olfactory nuclei, olfactory tubercle and piriform cortex , 1978, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[7]  R. M. Beckstead,et al.  Convergent thalamic and mesencephalic projections to the anterior medial cortex in the rat , 1976, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[8]  J. Fallon,et al.  Catecholamine innervation of the basal forebrain IV. Topography of the dopamine projection to the basal forebrain and neostriatum , 1978, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[9]  J. Deniau,et al.  Electrophysiological identification of mesencephalic ventromedial tegmental (VMT) neurons projecting to the frontal cortex, septum and nucleus accumbens , 1980, Brain Research.

[10]  J. Fallon,et al.  Catecholamine innervation of the basal forebrain II. Amygdala, suprarhinal cortex and entorhinal cortex , 1978, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[11]  Anders Björklund,et al.  Organization of catecholamine neurons projecting to the frontal cortex in the rat , 1978, Brain Research.

[12]  G. Koob,et al.  The origin and distribution of dopamine-containing afferents to the rat frontal cortex , 1978, Brain Research.

[13]  H. Kuypers,et al.  Fluorescent retrograde neuronal labeling in rat by means of substances binding specifically to adeninethymine rich DNA , 1979, Neuroscience Letters.

[14]  R. Hall,et al.  Organization of motor and somatosensory neocortex in the albino rat , 1974 .

[15]  J. Fallon,et al.  Substantia nigra dopamine neurons: separate populations project to neostriatum and allocortex , 1978, Neuroscience Letters.

[16]  H. Simon,et al.  Definitive disruption of spatial delayed alternation in rats after lesions in the ventral mesencephalic tegmentum , 1979, Neuroscience Letters.

[17]  G. P. Smith,et al.  Decreased locomotor and investigatory exploration after denervation of catecholamine terminal fields in the forebrain of rats. , 1979, Journal of comparative and physiological psychology.

[18]  T. Hökfelt,et al.  The origin of the dopamine nerve terminals in limbic and frontal cortex. Evidence for meso-cortico dopamine neurons. , 1974, Brain research.

[19]  J. Price,et al.  The cortical projections of the mediodorsal nucleus and adjacent thalamic nuclei in the rat , 1977, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[20]  H. Kuypers,et al.  Two new fluorescent retrograde neuronal tracers which are transported over long distances , 1980, Neuroscience Letters.

[21]  O. Phillipson The cytoarchitecture of the interfascicular nucleus and ventral tegmental area of tsai in the rat , 1979, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[22]  Rex Y. Wang Dopaminergic neurons in the rat ventral tegmental area. I. Identification and characterization , 1981, Brain Research Reviews.

[23]  James H. Fallon,et al.  Monoamine innervation of the forebrain: Collateralization , 1982, Brain Research Bulletin.

[24]  James H. Fallon,et al.  Locus coeruleus projections to cortex: Topography, morphology and collateralization , 1982, Brain Research Bulletin.

[25]  O. Lindvall,et al.  Organization of mesencephalic dopamine neurons projecting to neocortex and septum. , 1977, Advances in biochemical psychopharmacology.

[26]  J. Glowinski,et al.  Blockade by benzodiazepines of the selective high increase in dopamine turnover induced by stress in mesocortical dopaminergic neurons of the rat , 1979, Brain Research.

[27]  B. Kolb Dissociation of the effects of lesions of the orbital or medial aspect of the prefrontal cortex of the rat with respect to activity. , 1974, Behavioral biology.

[28]  H. Kuypers,et al.  Retrograde transport of bisbenzimide and propidium iodide through axons to their parent cell bodies , 1979, Neuroscience Letters.

[29]  C. Carter,et al.  Studies on the role of catecholamines in the frontal cortex [proceedings]. , 1978, British journal of pharmacology.

[30]  U. Ungerstedt Stereotaxic mapping of the monoamine pathways in the rat brain. , 1971, Acta physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum.

[31]  J. Rehfeld,et al.  A subpopulation of mesencephalic dopamine neurons projecting to limbic areas contains a cholecystokinin-like peptide: Evidence from immunohistochemistry combined with retrograde tracing , 1980, Neuroscience.

[32]  R. Passingham,et al.  Converging projections from the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus and mesencephalic dopaminergic neurons to the neocortex in three species , 1978, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[33]  J. E. Rose,et al.  Structure and relations of limbic cortex and anterior thalamic nuclei in rabbit and cat , 1948, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[34]  Rex Y. Wang Dopaminergic neurons in the rat ventral tegmental area. III. Effects of d-and l-amphetamine , 1981, Brain Research Reviews.

[35]  W. Krieg Connections of the cerebral cortex. I. The albino rat. B. Structure of the cortical areas , 1946, The Journal of comparative neurology.

[36]  L. W. Swanson,et al.  A method for tracing biochemically defined pathways in the central nervous system using combined fluorescence retrograde transport and immunohistochemical techniques , 1981, Brain Research.

[37]  B. Vogt,et al.  Form and distribution of neurons in rat cingulate cortex: Areas 32, 24, and 29 , 1981, The Journal of comparative neurology.