Afferent projections of the subthalamic nucleus in the rat: emphasis on bilateral and interhemispheric connections.

Afferent projections of the subthalamic nucleus in the rat: emphasis on bilateral and interhemispheric connections. Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars). 2018;78(3):251-263 Authors: Cavdar S, Özgür M, Çakmak YÖ, Kuvvet Y, Kunt SK, Sağlam G Abstract The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is important for normal movement as well as in movement disorders. The STN is a target nuclei in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a standard surgical treatment for PD. Although DBS results in a significant reduction in motor disability, several negative side effects have been reported. Thus, to understand the side effects of DBS the connection of the STN should be well known. Therefore, the present study aims to re‑examine the STN with an emphasis on poorly‑ or un‑documented connections. Furthermore, the bilateral and interhemispheric connections of the STN are evaluated. Fifteen male albino rats received injections of Fluoro‑Gold retrograde and biotinylated dextran amine anterograde tracers into the STN. Following a 7-10 day survival period, the animals were processed according to the relevant protocol for each tracer. The present study demonstrates ipsilateral connections of the STN with cortical regions (i.e., infralimbic, cingulate, frontal, piriform, primary motor, primary sensory, insular and retrosplenial cortices), the endopiriform nucleus, basal ganglia related structures (i.e., caudate putamen, globus...
Source: Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars) Source Type: research