Summary
Parallel electrophysiological and anatomical tracing studies on the projections from the hippocampal formation to the ventral striatum in the cat, were carried out with the aim of defining the nature and organization of the motor interfaces of the limbic cortex. In this context the main pathway was found to be that from the subiculum to the N. Accumbens; electrophysiological characteristics of this pathway are reported in the present study. This well organized pathway is primarily of an excitatory nature and consists of slow conducting fibers (1–2 ms−1). Three types of response patterns of single Accumbens units to subicular stimulation were found: units which responded with a burst of action potentials (the majority); units which responded with iterative bursting; units responding primarily with an inhibition of firing. Often the primary excitatory response was followed by a decrease in firing rate.
Analysis of Evoked Potentials indicate that the subicular inputs induce a monopolar positive field within the N. Accumbens; in combination with the evidence obtained from current source density (CSD) analysis these data suggest the following activation model: subicular inputs evoke depolarization of synapses lying peripherally in the dendrites of stellate neurons provoking peripheral sinks which form a concentric shell around sources at and in the neighbourhood of the cell bodies. In addition to the subiculum-Accumbens pathway evidence was also obtained for an excitatory input from the Entorhinal cortex to the N. Accumbens. Furthermore, an excitatory pathway from the prepyriform cortex to the olfactory tubercle was also electrophysiologically identified. The possibility that the pathways from the hippocampal formation, mainly subiculum and entorhinal cortex, to the N. Accumbens may provide the basis for a motor interface between limbic cortex and systems responsible for programming and modulation of motor acts is discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnolds DEAT, Lopes da Silva FH, Aitink JW, Kamp A (1979) Hippocampal EEG and behaviour in dog. I: Hippocampal EEG correlates of gross motor behaviour. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 46: 552–570
Arnolds DEAT, Lopes da Silva FH, Boeijinga P, Kamp A, Aitink W (1984) Hippocampal EEG and motor activity in the cat: the role of eye movements and body acceleration (in press)
Carman JB, Cowan WM, Powell TPS (1963) The organization of cortico-striate connections in the rabbit. Brain 3: 86: 525–560
De France JF, Yoshihara (1975) Fimbria input to the Nucleus Accumbens septi. Brain Res 90: 159–163
De France JF, Sikes RW, Chronister RB (1981) The electrophysiological effects of dopamine and histamine in the Nucleus Accumbens: frequency specificity. In: Chronister RB, de France JF (eds) The Neurobiology of the Nucleus Accumbens. Haer Institute for electrophysiological research, Brunswick, Maine (USA): 230–252
Fallon JH, Riley JN, Sipe JC, Moore RY (1978) The island of Calleja: Organization and connections. J Comp Neurol 181: 375–396
Freeman WJ (1975) Mass action in the nervous system. Academic Press, New York, 489 pp
Freeman WJ, Patel HH (1968) Extraneuronal potential fields evoked in septal region of cat by stimulation of fornix. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 24: 444–457
Graybiel AM (1976) Input-output anatomy of the basal ganglia. In: Symposium lecture, Proc. Soc. Neuroscience, Toronto, Canada
Groenewegen JH, Becker NEHM, Lohman AHM (1980) Subcortical afferents of the Nucleus Accumbens septi in the cat, studies with retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase and bisbenzimid. Neuroscience 5: 1903–1916
Groenewegen HJ, Arnolds DEAT, Lopes da Silva FH (1981) Afferent connections of the Nucleus Accumbens in the cat, with special emphasis on the projections from the hippocampal region; an anatomical and electrophysiological study. In: Chronister RB, de France JF (eds) The Neurobiology of the Nucleus Accumbens. Haer Institute for electrophysiological research, Brunswick, Maine (USA): 41–73
Groenewegen HJ, Room P, Witter MP, Lohman AHM (1982) Cortical afferents of the Nucleus Accumbens in the cat studied with anterograde and retrograde transport techniques. Neuroscience 7: 112–118
Habets AMMC, Lopes da Silva FH, Mollevanger WJ (1980) An olfactory input to the hippocampus of the cat: field potential analysis. Brain Res 102: 47–64
Heimer L, Wilson RD (1975) The subcortical projections of the allocortex: similarities in the neural association of the hippocampus, the pyriform cortex and the neocortex. In: Santini M (ed) Golgi Centennial Symposium. Raven Press, New York, pp 177–193
Heimer L (1978) The olfactory cortex and the ventral striatum. In: Livingston KE, Hornykiewicz O (eds) Limbic Mechanisms. Plenum Press, New York, pp 95–187
Horowitz JM (1972) Evoked activity of single units and neural populations in the hippocampus of the cat. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 132: 227–240
Issacson RL (1982) The limbic system (2nd edn). Plenum Press, New York 327 pp
Jones DL, Mogenson GJ (1980) Nucleus Accumbens to globus pallidus GABA projection subserving ambulatory activity. Am J Physiol 238: R65-R69
Klee M, Rall W (1977) Computed potentials of cortically arranged populations of neurons. J Neurophysiol 40: 647–666
Lopes da Silva FH, Kamp A (1969) Hippocampal theta frequency shifts and operant behaviour. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 26: 133–143
Lopes da Silva FA, Wadman WJ, Arnolds DEAT, Veeken C, Holsheimer J (1983) Hippocampus, behaviour and modulation of local circuits (in press)
Mogenson GJ, Jones DL, Yim CY (1980) From motivation to action: functional interface between the limbic system and the motor system. Progr Neurobiol 14: 69–97
Newman R, Winans SS (1980) An experimental study of the ventral striatum of the golden hamster. I: neuronal connections of the Nucleus Accumbens. J Comp Neurol 191: 167–192
Nicholson Ch, Freeman JA (1975) Theory of current sourcedensity analysis and determination of conductivity for anuran cerebellum. J Neurophysiol 38: 356–368
Powell EW, Leman RB (1976) Connections of the Nucleus Accumbens. Brain Res 105: 389–403
Pijnenburg AJJ, van Rossum JM (1973) Stimulation of locomotor activity following injection of dopamine into the Nucleus Accumbens. J Pharmacol 25: 1003–1005
Raisman G, Cowan WM, Powell TPS (1966) An experimental analysis of the efferent projections of the hippocampus. Brain 89: 83–108
Ramon y Cajal S (1955) Histologie du Systeme Nerveux de l'Homme et des Vertebres. Instituto Ramon y Cajal, Madrid, 993 pp
Reinstein DK, Hannigan JH Jr, Isaacson RL (1981) Behavioral and biochemical changes after hippocampal destruction involve forebrain dopaminergic system. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behaviour (ref in Isaacson 1982)
Siegel S (1956) Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences. McGraw Hill, New York
Snider RS, Niemer WT (1961) A stereotaxic atlas of the cat brain. Univ of Chicago Press, Chicago
Sorenson KE, Witter MP (1983) Entorhinal efferents reach the caudato-putamen. Neurosci Lett 35: 259–264
Sprague JM, Meyer M (1950) An experimental study of the fornix in the rabbit. J Anat (Lond) 84: 354–368
Swanson LW, Cowan WM (1977) An autoradiographic study of the organization of the efferent connections of the hippocampal formation in the rat. J Comp Neurol 172: 49–84
Vanderwolf CH (1969) Hippocampal electrical activity and voluntary movement in the rat. Electroencephalogr. Clin Neurophysiol 26: 407–418
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
da Silva Lopes, F.H., Arnolds, D.E.A.T. & Neijt, H.C. A functional link between the limbic cortex and ventral striatum: Physiology of the subiculum accumbens pathway. Exp Brain Res 55, 205–214 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00237271
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00237271