The orbitofrontal cortex projects to the parvafox nucleus of the ventrolateral hypothalamus and to its targets in the ventromedial periaqueductal grey matter.

ABSTRACT: Although connections between the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)-the seat of high cognitive functions-the lateral hypothalamus and the periaqueductal grey (PAG) have been recognized in the past, the precise targets of the descending fibres have not been identified. In the present study, viral tracer-transport experiments revealed neurons of the lateral (LO) and the ventrolateral (VLO) OFC (homologous to part of Area 13 in primates) to project to a circumscribed region in the ventrolateral hypothalamus, namely, the horizontally oriented, cylindrical parvalbumin- and Foxb1-expressing (parvafox) nucleus. The fine collaterals stem from coarse axons in the internal capsule and form excitatory synapses specifically with neurons of the parvafox nucleus, avoiding the rest of the hypothalamus. In its fu

SUBMITTER: Babalian A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6373537 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature