The orbitofrontal cortex projects to the parvafox nucleus of the ventrolateral hypothalamus and to its targets in the ventromedial periaqueductal grey matter
The orbitofrontal cortex projects to the parvafox nucleus of the ventrolateral hypothalamus and to its targets in the ventromedial periaqueductal grey matter
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DOI：
10.1007/s00429-018-1771-5
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发表时间：
2019-01-01
影响因子：
3.1
通讯作者：
Celio, Marco R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Babalian, Alexandre;Eichenberger, Simone;Celio, Marco R.
尽管过去已经认识到了眶额皮质（OFC）（高级认知功能的所在地）、外侧下丘脑和导水管周围灰质（PAG）之间的联系，但下行纤维的精确目标尚未确定。在本研究中，病毒示踪剂转运实验揭示了外侧（LO）和腹外侧（VLO）OFC（与灵长类动物13区部分同源）的神经元投射到腹外侧下丘脑的一个外接区域，即水平定向的、表达小白蛋白和Foxb1的圆柱形核（parvafox）。细侧络源自内囊中的粗轴突，并专门与 parvafox 核的神经元形成兴奋性突触，避开下丘脑的其余部分。在其进一步的尾部过程中，这支 LO/VLO 轴突将侧支投射到 Su3- 和 PV2 核，这些核位于 (PAG) 中渡槽的腹侧，其中终端场与源自 parvafox 核本身的终端场重叠。 LO/VLO 投影对 parvafox 核的定位，以及它们在 PAG 内的终端场的重叠，表明两个大脑部位密切相互作用。这种 LO/VLO 驱动电路参与行为事件的躯体表现是可以想象的。
Although connections between the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)the seat of high cognitive functionsthe lateral hypothalamus and the periaqueductal grey (PAG) have been recognized in the past, the precise targets of the descending fibres have not been identified. In the present study, viral tracer-transport experiments revealed neurons of the lateral (LO) and the ventrolateral (VLO) OFC (homologous to part of Area 13 in primates) to project to a circumscribed region in the ventrolateral hypothalamus, namely, the horizontally oriented, cylindrical parvalbumin- and Foxb1-expressing (parvafox) nucleus. The fine collaterals stem from coarse axons in the internal capsule and form excitatory synapses specifically with neurons of the parvafox nucleus, avoiding the rest of the hypothalamus. In its further caudal course, this contingent of LO/VLO-axons projects collaterals to the Su3- and the PV2 nuclei, which lie ventral to the aqueduct in the (PAG), where the terminals fields overlap those deriving from the parvafox nucleus itself. The targeting of the parvafox nucleus by the LO/VLO-projections, and the overlapping of their terminal fields within the PAG, suggest that the two cerebral sites interact closely. An involvement of this LO/VLO-driven circuit in the somatic manifestation of behavioural events is conceivable.