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Cytoarchitecture of the medial geniculate body and thalamic projections to the auditory cortex in the rufous horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus rouxi)

I. Temporal fields

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Abstract

The auditory cortex in echolocating bats is one of the best studied in mammals, yet the projections of the thalamus to the different auditory cortical fields have not been systematically analyzed in any bat species. The data of the present study were collected as part of a combined investigation of physiological properties, neuroarchitecture, and chemoarchitecture as well as connectivity of cortical fields in Rhinolophus in order to establish a neuroanatomically and functionally coherent view of the auditory cortex in the horseshoe bat. This paper first describes the neuroanatomic parcellation of the medial geniculate body and then concentrates on the afferent thalamic connections with auditory cortical fields of the temporal region. Deposits of horseradish peroxidase and wheatgerm-agglutinated horseradish peroxidase were made into neurophysiologically characterized locations of temporal auditory cortical fields; i.e., the tonotopically organized primary auditory cortex, a ventral field, and a temporal subdivision of a posterior dorsal field. A clear topographic relationship between thalamic subdivisions and specific cortical areas is demonstrated. The primary auditory cortex receives topographically organized input from the central ventral medial geniculate body. The projection patterns to the temporal subdivision of the posterior dorsal field suggest that it is a “core” field, similar to the posterior fields in the cat. Projections to the ventral field arise primarily from border regions of the ventral medial geniculate body. On the whole, the organization of the medial geniculate body projections to the temporal auditory cortex is quite similar to that described in other mammals, including cat and monkey.

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Abbreviations

AC:

auditory cortex

AD:

anterior dorsal nucleus of MGB

adf :

anterior dorsal field of AC

ADS:

anterior dorsal superficial nucleus of MGB

AP:

pretectal area

ax:

axon

BIC:

brachium of the IC

BICN:

nucleus of the BIC

CF:

constant frequency

CP:

cerebral peduncle

D:

dorsal nucleus of MGB

DD:

deep dorsal nucleus of MGB

ddf :

dorsal dorsal field of AC

DS:

dorsal superficial nucleus of MGB

FM:

frequency modulation

Fr:

frontal region

HA:

Habenula

HRP:

horseradish peroxidase

IC:

inferior colliculus

ILN:

intralaminar nuclei

LGB:

lateral geniculate body

LGBv:

ventral LGB

LGBi:

intergeniculate leaflet of LGB

LPc, r:

caudal and rostral part of the lateral posterior nucleus

M, MGBm:

medial division of MGB

M/PO:

transition zone of MGBm and ILN/PO

MGB:

medial geniculate body

MGBd:

dorsal division of MGB

MGBm, M:

medial division of MGB

MGBv, V:

ventral division of MGB

MGB1–MGB6:

6 representative MGB atlas sections from different rostrocaudal levels

MZ:

marginal zone of MGB

NRTH:

reticular nucleus of the thalamus

Occ:

occipital region

OT:

optic tract

Par:

parietal region

Par1, 2, 3, 4:

parietal fields 1–4 of the parietal region

Par/Occ:

parietal/occipital transition zone

PL:

posterior limitans nucleus

pf :

primary field of AC

PO:

posterior nucleus

POL, POM:

lateral, medial nucleus of PO

PO/ILN:

intralaminar portion of PO

rdf :

rostral dorsal field of AC

SGN:

suprageniculate nucleus

SN:

substantia nigra

SPFL:

subparafascicular nucleus

SPN:

suprapeduncular nucleus

Te:

temporal region

Te1, 2:

temporal fields 1 and 2 of the temporal region

Te1′, 2′:

temporal fields 1′ and 2′ of the temporal region

Te2r, c:

rostral and caudal part of Te2

Te/Occ:

temporal/occipital transition zone

Te-Rz:

edge zone of the temporal region

V, MGBv:

ventral division of MGB

V′:

border zones of MGBv

vf :

ventral field of AC

VL:

ventrolateral nucleus of MGB

VTH/PO:

tentative name for an area, that is part of the ventral nuclear group of the lateral thalamus (VTH; possibly ventrobasal complex or ventroposterior nucleus) and/or the posterior nuclei group (possibly the lateral or medial nucleus of the posterior group (POL or POM)

WGA-HRP:

wheat germ-agglutinated HRP

ZI:

zona incerta

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Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Jean Büttner-Ennever, William E. O’Neill, and Gerd Schuller for thoughtful comments on the manuscript and the revision of the English text. This research was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SFB 204 (“Gehör”), TP10.

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  1. Institute of Anatomy, University of Munich, Pettenkoferstraße 11, , 80336, Munich, Germany

    Susanne Radtke-Schuller

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Supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SFB 204 (“Gehör”), TP10.

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Radtke-Schuller, S. Cytoarchitecture of the medial geniculate body and thalamic projections to the auditory cortex in the rufous horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus rouxi). Anat Embryol 209, 59–76 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-004-0424-z

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