EFFERENT CONNECTIONS OF THE OVAL NUCLEUS AND ITS ADJACENT AREAS OF THE BED NUCLEII OF THE STRIA TERMINALIS IN THE RAT——A WGA-HRP ANTEROGRADE TRACING STUDY / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

Ju and Swanson first named the dorsal part of the anterolateral area of the bed nuclei of the stria terminalis (BST) as oval nucleus (Ov), and found that it was a homogeneous structure rich in neuropeptide-containing neurons and terminals. However, no systemic study has been made about the connections of the Ov.The present experiments were designed to examine the efferent projections of the Ov in the rat. Wheat germ agglutinin conjugated horseradish peroxidase(WGA-HRP) was used as a tracer.Injection of WGA-HRP into the Ov and its adjacent areas resulted in dense anterograde labelling in the posterior part of the lateral hypothalamic area, central nucleus of the amygdala, ventral part of the midbrain central gray, ventral tegmental nucleus, parabrachial nuclei, mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus and locus coeruleus; moderate labelling in the preoptic area, periventricular area of the hypothalamus, arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, midline nuclei of the thalamus, medial habenular nucleus, pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus, midbrain reticular formation, dorsal raphe nucleus and the dorsal vagal complex; sparse labelling in the caudal linier nucleus, median raphe nucleus, ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra and intercalated nucleus of medulla oblongata. The results suggest that the Ov may be involved in multiple physiological functions.