Chang H T, Tian Q
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, College of Medicine, University of Tennessee, Memphis 38163.
Brain Res Bull. 1991 Jun;26(6):947-56. doi: 10.1016/0361-9230(91)90262-i.
Under the posterior limb of the anterior commissure, a brain region intercalated between the ventral striatum and the ventral pallidum was previously identified as the interstitial nucleus of the posterior limb of the anterior commissure by de Olmos. This region, referred here as the caudal ventral stratum (VSc), is characterized by a dense plexus of vasoactive intestinal peptide immunoreactive (VIP+) axons. Double-fluorescence immunocytochemical reactions reveal that the dense VIP+ plexus is found in a region also rich in dopaminergic (i.e., tyrosine-hydroxylase immunoreactive) fibers but poor in enkephalinergic terminals. The dense plexuses of VIP+ axons in VSc appear to be contiguous with those in the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST) and the central nucleus of amygdala (CNA). These results support the notion that this VSc region is a part of the "extended amygdala" as proposed recently by Alheid and Heimer, and confirms that its anatomical properties are closer related to the ventral striatum than the ventral pallidum. Electron microscopic analysis reveals that the VIP+ boutons form asymmetrical synapses with dendrites and spines, and symmetrical synapses with somata of unlabeled VSc neurons. The few VIP+ neurons within this area form synapses with many unlabeled axon terminals on both their somata and dendrites. Some VIP+ neurons, however, also form axosomatic and axodendritic synapses with VIP+ boutons.
在前连合后肢下方，一个夹在腹侧纹状体和腹侧苍白球之间的脑区，先前被德奥尔莫斯鉴定为前连合后肢间质核。这个区域，在这里称为尾侧腹层（VSc），其特征是富含血管活性肠肽免疫反应性（VIP+）轴突的密集神经丛。双荧光免疫细胞化学反应显示，密集的VIP+神经丛存在于一个也富含多巴胺能（即酪氨酸羟化酶免疫反应性）纤维但脑啡肽能终末较少的区域。VSc中密集的VIP+轴突神经丛似乎与终纹床核（BNST）和杏仁核中央核（CNA）中的神经丛相连。这些结果支持了这样一种观点，即这个VSc区域是阿尔海德和海默最近提出的“扩展杏仁核”的一部分，并证实其解剖学特性与腹侧纹状体的关系比与腹侧苍白球的关系更密切。电子显微镜分析显示，VIP+终扣与树突和棘形成不对称突触，与未标记的VSc神经元的胞体形成对称突触。该区域内少数VIP+神经元在其胞体和树突上与许多未标记的轴突终末形成突触。然而，一些VIP+神经元也与VIP+终扣形成轴体和轴树突触。
