Summary
We studied the retinal projections of Old World monkeys using the anterograde transport of tritiated amino acid and wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. In addition to well-known retinal connections, these methods revealed that a small number of labeled retinofugal fibers might terminate in a small area of the contralateral formatio reticularis tegmenti mesencephali between the red nucleus and the substantia nigra. In the autoradiographic cases, a few labeled retinal terminals were also found in the same area on the ipsilateral side. In order to reach their terminal field, these labeled fibers appeared to leave the accessory optic tract in the vicinity of the dorsal border of the lateral terminal nucleus and run medially through the substantia nigra.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cooper HM, Magnin M (1986) A common mammalian plan of accessory optic system organization revealed in all primates. Nature 324: 457–459
Cowan WM, Gottlieb DI, Hendrickson AE, Price JL, Woolsey TA (1972) The autoradiographic demonstration of axonal connections in the central nervous system. Brain Res 37: 21–51
Fujii M, Kusama T (1984) Fixation of horseradish peroxidase reaction products with ammonium molybdate. Neurosci Res 1: 153–156
Hayhow WR, Webb C, Jervie A (1960) The accessory optic fiber system in the rat. J Comp Neurol 115: 187–216
Hendrickson A, Wilson ME, Toyne MJ (1970) The distribution of optic nerve fibers in Macaca mulatta. Brain Res 23: 425–427
Itaya SK, Van Hoesen GW (1983) Retinal fibers to the medial terminal nucleus of the accessory optic system in the Old World monkey. Brain Res 269: 361–364
Itaya SK, Van Hoesen GW, Benevento LA (1986) Direct retinal pathways to the limbic thalamus of the monkey. Exp Brain Res 61: 607–613
Lin H, Giolli RA (1979) Accessory optic system of rhesus monkey. Exp Neurol 63: 163–176
Maekawa K, Takeda T (1979) Origin of descending afferents to the rostral part of dorsal cap of inferior olive which transfer contralateral optic activities to the flocculus. A horseradish peroxidase study. Brain Res 172: 393–405
Mesulam MM (1982) Principles of horseradish peroxidase neurohistochemistry and their applications for tracing neural pathways — axonal transport, enzyme histochemistry and light microscopic analysis. In: Mesulam MM (ed) Tracing neural connections with horseradish peroxidase. John Wiley, New York, pp 153–184
Nakagawa S, Tanaka S (1984) Retinal projections to the pulvinar nucleus of the macaque monkey: a re-investigation using autoradiography. Exp Brain Res 57: 151–157
Shantha TR, Manocha SL, Bourne GH (1968) A stereotaxic atlas of the Java monkey brain (Macaca irus). S. Karger, Basel New York
Snider RS, Lee JC (1961) A stereotaxic atlas of the monkey brain (Macaca mulatta). University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Tigges J, Bos J, Tigges M (1977) An autoradiographic investigation of the subcortical visual system in chimpanzee. J Comp Neurol 172: 367–380
Tokunaga A, Akert K, Garey LJ, Otani K (1981) Primary and secondary subcortical projections of the monkey visual system. An autoradiographic study. Brain Res 214: 137–143
Weber JT, Giolli RA (1986) The medial terminal nucleus of the monkey: evidence for a complete accessory optic system. Brain Res 365: 164–168
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nakagawa, S., Hasegawa, Y., Tokushige, A. et al. Retinal projection to the formatio reticularis tegmenti mesencephali in the Old World monkeys. Exp Brain Res 69, 373–377 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00247582
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00247582