Projections from the rat pedunculopontine and laterodorsal tegmental nuclei to the anterior thalamus and ventral tegmental area arise from largely separate populations of neurons.

ABSTRACT: Cholinergic and non-cholinergic neurons in the brainstem pedunculopontine (PPT) and laterodorsal tegmental (LDT) nuclei innervate diverse forebrain structures. The cholinergic neurons within these regions send heavy projections to thalamic nuclei and provide modulatory input as well to midbrain dopamine cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Cholinergic PPT/LDT neurons are known to send collateralized projections to thalamic and non-thalamic targets, and previous studies have shown that many of the afferents to the VTA arise from neurons that also project to midline and intralaminar thalamic nuclei. However, whether cholinergic projections to the VTA and anterior thalamus (AT) are similarly collateralized is unknown. Ultrastructural work from our laboratory has demonstrated that cholin

SUBMITTER: Holmstrand EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3255475 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature