Abstract
The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is part of a group of midline and intralaminar thalamic nuclei implicated in arousal and attention. Recent research points to anatomical and functional differences between the anterior (aPVT) and posterior PVT (pPVT). The present study re-examines the main sources of brain inputs to the aPVT and pPVT in the rat following iontophoretic injections of the retrograde tracer cholera toxin B (CTb) in the PVT. The location and the number of retrogradely labeled neurons in different regions of the brain were examined to determine which brain areas are likely to exert a strong influence on the aPVT and pPVT. The largest number of labeled neurons was found in layer 6 of the prelimbic, infralimbic and posterior insular cortices following injections in the pPVT. In contrast, the largest number of labeled neurons following injections of CTb in the aPVT was found to be in the hippocampal subiculum and the prelimbic cortex. Other areas of the brain including the reticular nucleus of the thalamus, periaqueductal gray, parabrachial nucleus and dorsomedial nucleus of the hypothalamus were found to contain a more moderate number of neurons following injections of CTb in either the aPVT or pPVT. The results of the present tracing study clearly show that more neurons in the prefrontal cortex and subiculum project to the PVT than neurons from the hypothalamus and brainstem. These results highlight the potential importance of top–down modulation of PVT mechanisms and behavioral functions.
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Abbreviations
- 1:
-
Layer 1
- 2:
-
Layer 2
- 3:
-
Layer 3
- 5:
-
Layer 5
- 6:
-
Layer 6
- ac:
-
Anterior commissure
- AI:
-
Agranular insular cortex
- AID:
-
Agranular insular cortex, dorsal part
- AIV:
-
Agranular insular cortex, ventral part
- Aq:
-
Aqueduct
- BST:
-
Bed nucleus of stria terminalis
- CeA:
-
Central amygdaloid nucleus
- Cg1:
-
Cingulate cortex, area 1
- Cl:
-
Claustrum
- CM:
-
Central medial thalamic nucleus
- DI:
-
Dysgranular insular cortex
- DM:
-
Dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus
- DP:
-
Dorsal peduncular cortex
- DR:
-
Dorsal raphe nucleus
- ec:
-
External capsule
- Ent:
-
Entothinal cortex
- f:
-
Fornix
- fmi:
-
Forceps minor of the corpus callosum
- GI:
-
Granular insular cortex
- Hb:
-
Habenular nucleus
- ic:
-
Internal capsule
- IL:
-
Infralimbic cortex
- IMD:
-
Intermediodorsal thalamic nucleus
- LPB:
-
Lateral parabrachial nucleus
- M2:
-
Secondary motor cortex
- MD:
-
Mediodorsal thalamic nucleus
- MnPO:
-
Median preoptic nucleus
- MPA:
-
Medial preoptic area
- MPB:
-
Medial parabrachial nucleus
- OB:
-
Orbital cortex
- PAG:
-
Periaqueductal gray
- PB:
-
Parabrachial nucleus
- PeFLH:
-
Perifornical part of lateral hypothalamus
- PH:
-
Posterior hypothalamic nucleus
- PrL:
-
Prelimbic cortex
- PSTh:
-
Parasubthalamic nucleus
- PT:
-
Paratenial thalamic nucleus
- PVN:
-
Paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus
- PVT:
-
Paraventricular thalamic nucleus
- Rt:
-
Reticular thalamic nucleus
- SCh:
-
Suprachiasmatic nucleus
- scp:
-
Superior cerebellar peduncle
- sm:
-
Stria medullaris of the thalamus
- Sub:
-
Subiculum
- VM:
-
Ventromedial thalamic nucleus
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Grant sponsor: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR); Grant number: MOP89758 (to G.J.K.).
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Li, S., Kirouac, G.J. Sources of inputs to the anterior and posterior aspects of the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus. Brain Struct Funct 217, 257–273 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-011-0360-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-011-0360-7