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Projections from the medial septum and diagonal band of Broca to the dorsal and central superior raphe nuclei: a non-cholinergic pathway

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Summary

The anatomical organization of projections from the medial septal nucleus (MS), and the vertical (VDB) and horizontal limb (HDB) of the diagonal band of Broca to the dorsal raphe nucleus (NRD) and the central superior raphe nucleus (RCS) of the rat were studied by anterograde [3H]-leucine, and True Blue and Fluoro Gold fluorescent retrograde tracing. Projections from the MS were found to enter the basal mesencephalon at the rostro-medial aspect of the pontine nuclei, curve dorsally and terminate throughout the RCS and in the caudal portion of the NRD. Fibers from the VDB were found to enter these raphe nuclei by two separate routes; some fibers reached the basal mesencephalon, curved dorsally and terminated in the RCS and NRD. Other fibers entered the pedunculopontine nucleus, curved medially and reached the NRD. Presumed terminal labelling was found overlaying the RCS and NRD throughout their rostro-caudal extensions. The brain stem projections from HDB entered the mesencephalon by the same routes as those from VDB, but the labelling over RCS was sparse, and the NRD labelling was preferentially distributed to the rostral portion of the nucleus. The present data indicate a crude topographic organization of the projections from the septal region to the NRD and RCS. In general, the distribution of presumed terminal labelling appeared to be more closely associated with the distribution of NRD and RCS 5-HT immunoreactive cell bodies, than with the cytoarchitectonically defined extensions of these raphe nuclei. By sequential evaluation of the distribution of retrogradely labelled and acetylcholine esterase-stained cells on the same section, and by selective tracing with radiolabelled choline, it appears that the vast majority, if not all, of the neurons in MS and diagonal band which project to the rostral raphe are non-cholinergic.

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Abbreviations

CLi:

caudal linear raphe nucleus

DTg:

dorsal tegmental nucleus

flm:

medial longitudinal fasciculus

HDB:

horizontal limb of the diagonal band of Broca

IP:

interpeduncular nucleus

MS:

medial septal nucleus

NRD:

dorsal raphe nucleus

PAG:

periaqueductal gray

Pn:

pontine nucleus

R:

red nucleus

RCS:

central superior raphe nucleus

RMg:

raphe magnus nucleus

RPn:

pontine raphe nucleus

SN:

substantia nigra

VDB:

vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca

VTg:

ventral tegmental nucleus

5:

trigeminal motor nucleus

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  1. Department of Medical Cell Research, University of Lund, Biskopsgatan 5, S-223 62, Lund, Sweden

    P. Kalén

  2. Equipe de Neuroanatomie Fonctionelle, Laboratoire de Physiologie Nerveuse, C.N.R.S., F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France

    L. Wiklund

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Kalén, P., Wiklund, L. Projections from the medial septum and diagonal band of Broca to the dorsal and central superior raphe nuclei: a non-cholinergic pathway. Exp Brain Res 75, 401–416 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00247947

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