Summary
Injections of 3H-leucine were made in the entopeduncular nucleus or dentate nucleus of the cerebellum in eight cats. The terminal projection zones of both pathways in the thalamus were studied using the sagittal plane and their relationships to one another as well as to cytoarchitectural boundaries of thalamic nuclei were compared. The data indicate that the territories controlled by the two projection systems are almost entirely segregated. The segregation is mainly along the antero-posterior axis as the main pallidal projection zone occupies the medio-ventral VA while the main dentate projection zone lies posterior to it in the VL. Furthermore, the dorsolateral part of the VA not occupied by pallidal projections receives dentate projections. In the VM, both afferent systems terminate in the lateral part of the nucleus with pallidal territory located anteriorly and dentate territory located posteriorly, again without overlap. As the delineations of nuclear subdivisions in the ventral thalamus of the cat have been a subject of some controversy, it is suggested that the boundaries of the VA, VL and VM in the cat thalamus be defined on the basis of basal ganglia and cerebellar projection zones.
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Abbreviations
- AM:
-
anterior medial nucleus
- AV:
-
anterior ventral nucleus
- BC:
-
brachium conjunctivum
- CA:
-
anterior commissure
- CC:
-
crus cerebri
- CP:
-
posterior commissure
- CD:
-
caudate nucleus
- CE:
-
centrum medianum
- CLN:
-
central lateral nucleus
- DN:
-
dentate nucleus
- EPN:
-
entopeduncular nucleus
- FF:
-
Forel's field
- FN:
-
fastigial nucleus
- FR:
-
fasciculus retroflexus
- HL:
-
lateral habenular nucleus
- HM:
-
medial habenular nucleus
- INA:
-
anterior interposite nucleus
- INP:
-
posterior interposite nucleus
- IC:
-
internal capsule
- LD:
-
lateral dorsal nucleus
- LG:
-
lateral geniculate body
- MD:
-
medial dorsal nucleus
- MTT:
-
mamillothalamic tract
- NR:
-
red nucleus
- OT:
-
optic tract
- PAC:
-
paracentral nucleus
- PF:
-
parafascicular nucleus
- PV:
-
pulvinar
- RT:
-
reticular thalamic nucleus
- SM:
-
submedian nucleus
- SN:
-
substantia nigra
- SNr:
-
substantia nigra pars reticularis
- STN:
-
subthalamic nucleus
- VF:
-
ventral posterior nucleus
- VA:
-
ventral anterior nucleus
- VL:
-
ventral lateral nucleus
- VM:
-
ventral medial nucleus
- ZI:
-
zona incerta
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Supported in part by a grant from the American Parkinson Disease Association and NIH grant R01NS19280
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Ilinsky, I.A., Kultas-Ilinsky, K. An autoradiographic study of topographical relationships between pallidal and cerebellar projections to the cat thalamus. Exp Brain Res 54, 95–106 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00235822
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00235822