Laboratory of Chemical Neuroanatomy, Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, 05508-000 São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Anatomy, Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University, 18618-970 Botucatu, Brazil.
J Chem Neuroanat. 2013 Dec;54:5-19. doi: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2013.04.001. Epub 2013 Apr 22.
Numerous functions have been attributed to the Edinger-Westphal nucleus (EW), including those related to feeding behavior, pain control, alcohol consumption and the stress response. The EW is thought to consist of two parts: one controls accommodation, choroidal blood flow and pupillary constriction, primarily comprising cholinergic cells and projecting to the ciliary ganglion; and the other would be involved in the non-ocular functions mentioned above, comprising peptide-producing neurons and projecting to the brainstem, spinal cord and prosencephalic regions. Despite the fact that the EW is well known, its connections have yet to be described in detail. The aim of this work was to produce a map of the hypothalamic sources of afferents to the EW in the rat. We injected the retrograde tracer Fluoro-Gold into the EW, and using biotinylated dextran amine, injected into afferent sources as the anterograde control. We found retrogradely labeled cells in the following regions: subfornical organ, paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, arcuate nucleus, lateral hypothalamic area, zona incerta, posterior hypothalamic nucleus, medial vestibular nucleus and cerebellar interpositus nucleus. After injecting BDA into the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus, lateral hypothalamic area and posterior hypothalamic nucleus, we found anterogradely labeled fibers in close apposition to and potential synaptic contact with urocortin 1-immunoreactive cells in the EW. On the basis of our findings, we can suggest that the connections between the EW and the hypothalamic nuclei are involved in controlling stress responses and feeding behavior.
许多功能都归因于 Edinger-Westphal 核（EW），包括与进食行为、疼痛控制、酒精消费和应激反应相关的功能。EW 被认为由两部分组成：一部分控制调节、脉络膜血液流动和瞳孔收缩，主要由胆碱能细胞组成，并投射到睫状神经节；另一部分涉及上述非眼部功能，包括产生肽的神经元，并投射到脑干、脊髓和前脑区域。尽管 EW 是众所周知的，但它的连接尚未详细描述。这项工作的目的是制作大鼠 EW 传入下丘脑来源的图谱。我们将逆行示踪剂 Fluoro-Gold 注入 EW，并将生物素化葡聚糖胺注入传入源作为顺行对照。我们在以下区域发现了逆行标记的细胞：穹窿下器官、室旁核、弓状核、下丘脑外侧区、未定带、下丘脑后核、内侧前庭核和小脑间位核。在将 BDA 注入室旁核、下丘脑外侧区和下丘脑后核后，我们发现顺行标记纤维与 EW 中的 Ucn1-免疫反应性细胞紧密接近，并可能发生突触接触。基于我们的发现，我们可以提出 EW 和下丘脑核之间的连接参与控制应激反应和进食行为。
