Search results for "Ventral Striatum"
showing 10 items of 25 documents
Regional differences in mu-opioid receptor-dependent modulation of basal dopamine transmission in rat striatum
2016
Abstract The nigrostriatal dopamine system is implicated in the regulation of reward and motor activity. Dopamine (DA) release in dorsal striatum (DS) is controlled by the firing rate of DA neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta. However, influences at terminal level, such as those involving activation of mu opioid receptors (MORs), can play a key role in determining DA levels in striatum. Nonetheless, published data also suggest that the effect of opioid drugs on DA levels may differ depending on the DS subregion analyzed. In this study, in vivo microdialysis in rats was used to explore this regional dependence. Changes in basal DA levels induced by local retrodialysis application of DA…
Chemoarchitecture and afferent connections of the "olfactostriatum": a specialized vomeronasal structure within the basal ganglia of snakes.
2004
The olfactostriatum, a portion of the striatal complex of snakes, is the major tertiary vomeronasal structure in the ophidian brain, receiving substantial afferents from the nucleus sphericus, the primary target of accessory olfactory bulb efferents. In the present study, we have characterized the olfactostriatum of garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) on the basis of chemoarchitecture (distribution of serotonin, neuropeptide Y and tyrosine hydroxylase) and hodology (afferent connections). The olfactostriatum is densely immunoreactive for serotonin and neuropeptide Y and shows moderate-to-weak immunoreactivity for tyrosine hydroxylase. In addition to afferents from the nucleus sphericus, the…
The dopamine uptake inhibitor 3 alpha-[bis(4'-fluorophenyl)metoxy]-tropane reduces cocaine-induced early-gene expression, locomotor activity, and con…
2009
Benztropine (BZT) analogs, a family of high-affinity dopamine transporter ligands, are molecules that exhibit pharmacological and behavioral characteristics predictive of significant therapeutic potential in cocaine addiction. Here, we examined in mice the effects of 3 alpha-[bis(4'-fluorophenyl)metoxy]-tropane (AHN-1055) on motor activity, conditioned place preference (CPP) and c-Fos expression in the striatum. AHN-1055 produced mild attenuation of spontaneous locomotor activity at a low dose (1 mg/kg) and weak stimulation at a higher dose (10 mg/kg). In parallel, the BZT analog significantly increased c-Fos expression in the dorsolateral caudoputamen at the high dose, whereas producing ma…
Vomeronasal inputs to the rodent ventral striatum.
2008
Vertebrates sense chemical signals through the olfactory and vomeronasal systems. In squamate reptiles, which possess the largest vomeronasal system of all vertebrates, the accessory olfactory bulb projects to the nucleus sphericus, which in turn projects to a portion of the ventral striatum known as olfactostriatum. Characteristically, the olfactostriatum is innervated by neuropeptide Y, tyrosine hydroxylase and serotonin immunoreactive fibers. In this study, the possibility that a structure similar to the reptilian olfactostriatum might be present in the mammalian brain has been investigated. Injections of dextran-amines have been aimed at the posteromedial cortical amygdaloid nucleus (th…
Projections from the posterolateral olfactory amygdala to the ventral striatum: neural basis for reinforcing properties of chemical stimuli
2007
Abstract Background Vertebrates sense chemical stimuli through the olfactory receptor neurons whose axons project to the main olfactory bulb. The main projections of the olfactory bulb are directed to the olfactory cortex and olfactory amygdala (the anterior and posterolateral cortical amygdalae). The posterolateral cortical amygdaloid nucleus mainly projects to other amygdaloid nuclei; other seemingly minor outputs are directed to the ventral striatum, in particular to the olfactory tubercle and the islands of Calleja. Results Although the olfactory projections have been previously described in the literature, injection of dextran-amines into the rat main olfactory bulb was performed with …
Relations between basal ganglia and hippocampus: Action of substantia nigra and pallidum
1986
Several interrelationships exist between basal ganglia and hippocampus. The ventral striatum appears to be involved in the control of the dopaminergic nigro-striatal pathway. The caudate, in turn, seems to influence the hippocampal theta rhythm and to inhibit hippocampal spikes. In the present work the role played by globus pallidus pars interna and substantia nigra pars compacta on hippocampal bioelectrical activity is studied. Injection of sodium penicillin i.v. produces steady interictal spikes in the hippocampus. Substantia nigra stimulation induces regular theta rhythm and inhibits the spikes. Pallidal stimulation, on the contrary, appears to strongly enhance epileptiform activity, pro…
D2R striatopallidal neurons inhibit both locomotor and drug reward processes.
2009
The specific functions of dopamine D(2) receptor-positive (D(2)R) striatopallidal neurons remain poorly understood. Using a genetic mouse model, we found that ablation of D(2)R neurons in the entire striatum induced hyperlocomotion, whereas ablation in the ventral striatum increased amphetamine conditioned place preference. Thus D(2)R striatopallidal neurons limit both locomotion and, unexpectedly, drug reinforcement.
Amygdala
2015
The amygdala is considered a key center in managing emotional information and its dysfunction is at the base of disorders ranging through anxiety, depression, PTSD and autism. However, the amygdala seems heterogeneous both structurally (with pallial and supallial components) and functionally. Thus, whereas cortical and thalamic multimodal sensory inputs enter the basolateral complex, the corticomedial amygdala is dominated by olfactory and vomeronasal inputs. Intrinsic amygdaloid circuitry, connects these two amygdaloid divisions and convey processed information to the main amygdala outputs. The pallial amygdala is the main source for telencephalic outputs to associative cortical areas (e.g…
Evolution of vertebrate survival circuits
2018
Evolution selects those adaptive features that increase reproductive probabilities and facilitate survival. Analysing the brain circuits mediating risk-avoidance (e.g. defense) and those allowing reward-seeking (motivated) behaviours in different vertebrates leads to several main conclusions. First, circuits mediating risk-avoidance are similar in all studied vertebrates, where they include amygdala homologues located in the posterior half of the cerebral hemispheres, in close relationship with the chemosensory systems. Second, in all vertebrates, reward-seeking behaviours involve the activity of tegmento-striatal dopaminergic pathways, plus other inputs to the ventral striatum, including a…
Amygdalostriatal projections in reptiles: A tract-tracing study in the lizardPodarcis hispanica
2004
Whereas the lacertilian anterior dorsal ventricular ridge contains unimodal sensory areas, its posterior part (PDVR) is an associative center that projects to the hypothalamus, thus being comparable to the amygdaloid formation. To further understand the organization of the reptilian cerebral hemispheres, we have used anterograde and retrograde tracing techniques to study the projections from the PDVR and adjoining areas (dorsolateral amygdala, DLA; deep lateral cortex, dLC; nucleus sphericus, NS) to the striatum in the lizard Podarcis hispanica. This information is complemented with a detailed description of the organization of the basal telencephalon of Podarcis. The caudal aspect of the d…