Morphology and connectivity of parabrachial and cortical inputs to gustatory thalamus in rats.

ABSTRACT: The ventroposterior medialis parvocellularis (VPMpc) nucleus of the thalamus, the thalamic relay nucleus for gustatory sensation, receives primary input from the parabrachial nucleus, and projects to the insular cortex. To reveal the unique properties of the gustatory thalamus in comparison with archetypical sensory relay nuclei, this study examines the morphology of synaptic circuitry in the VPMpc, focusing on parabrachiothalamic driver input and corticothalamic feedback. Anterogradely visualized parabrachiothalamic fibers in the VPMpc bear large swellings. At electron microscope resolution, parabrachiothalamic axons are myelinated and make large boutons, forming multiple asymmetric, adherent, and perforated synapses onto large-caliber dendrites and dendrite initial segments. Labeled bout

SUBMITTER: Holtz SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4232453 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature