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Ultrastructure and synaptic associations of auditory thalamo-amygdala projections in the rat

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Summary

Projections from the acoustic thalamus to the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (AL) have been implicated in the formation of emotional memories. In order to begin elucidating the cellular basis of emotional learning in this pathway, the ultrastructure and synaptic associations of acoustic thalamus efferents terminating in AL were studied using wheat-germ agglutinated horse-radish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) and Phaseolus vulgaris Leucoagglutinin (Pha-L) as ultrastructural anterograde axonal markers. The tracers were injected into those areas of the thalamus (medial division of the medial geniculate body and posterior intralaminar nucleus, MGM/PIN) known both to project to AL and to receive afferents from the inferior colliculus. Terminals labeled with WGA-HRP or Pha-L in AL contained mitochrondria and many small, round clear vesicles and 0–3 large, dense-core vesicles. Most labeled terminals formed asymmetric synapses on unlabeled dendrites; of these the majority were on dendritic spines. These data demonstrate that projections from the acoustic thalamus form synapses in AL and provide the first characterization of the ultrastructure and synaptic associations of sensory afferent projections to the amygdala.

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Abbreviations

ABL:

basolateral nucleus of the amygdala

ABM:

basomedial nucleus of the amygdala

ABV:

ventral basolateral nucleus of the amygdala

ACE:

central nucleus of the amygdala

ACO:

cortical nucleus of the amygdala

AM:

medial nucleus of the amygdala

APT:

anterior pretectal area

AST:

amygdalo-striatal transition area

AL:

lateral nucleus of the amygdala

CI:

internal capsule

CG:

central gray

CP:

cerebral peduncle

CPU:

caudateputamen

EN:

endopiriform area

GP:

globus pallidus

I:

intercalated nucleus of the amygdala

OT:

optic tract

PIN:

posterior intralaminar nucleus

PIR:

piriform cortex

POM:

medial posterior thalamic complex

PP:

peripeduncular area

PR:

perirhinal cortex

SC:

superior colliculus

SG:

suprageniculate nucleus

RN:

red nucleus

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Neural Science, New York University, 6 Washington Place, 10003, New York, NY, USA

    J. E. LeDoux & C. R. Farb

  2. Division of Neurobiology, Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, Cornell University Medical College, 10012, New York, NY, USA

    T. A. Milner

Authors
  1. J. E. LeDoux
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  2. C. R. Farb
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  3. T. A. Milner
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LeDoux, J.E., Farb, C.R. & Milner, T.A. Ultrastructure and synaptic associations of auditory thalamo-amygdala projections in the rat. Exp Brain Res 85, 577–586 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00231742

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