Krushel L A, van der Kooy D
Department of Anatomy, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
J Comp Neurol. 1988 Apr 1;270(1):39-54, 62-3. doi: 10.1002/cne.902700105.
The organization of the subcortical and cortical connections of the rat agranular insular cortex was examined. Retrogradely transported dyes were used to map the agranular insular cortex efferents to brainstem visceral nuclei (the nucleus of the solitary tract and the parabrachial nucleus), to gustatory-visceral and limbic thalamic nuclei (medial ventrobasal and mediodorsal thalamus, respectively), and to association cortex (medial prefrontal and contralateral agranular insular cortex). The results revealed that a specific area within the ipsilateral agranular insular cortex projected to all of the subcortical and cortical areas listed above. This area of overlap in the agranular insular cortex stretched from the level of the genu of the corpus callosum rostrally to the crossing of the anterior commissure caudally. Anterograde projections from the medial ventrobasal and mediodorsal thalamus and from the olfactory bulb to the agranular insular cortex were mapped with wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase. The terminal cortical projections from these areas were generally separate, except in an area where they overlap immediately medial to the rhinal fissure in the agranular insular cortex. This overlap area matched the area in the agranular insular cortex where there was an overlap of cortical efferent cells projecting to the brainstem, thalamus, and association cortex, as revealed in the retrograde tracing studies. We refer to this region of convergence in the agranular insular cortex as the visceral cortex, and suggest its involvement in the efficient integration of specific visceral sensory stimuli with correlated limbic or motivational consequences. The visceral cortex may help regulate the organism's visceral response to stress.
对大鼠无颗粒岛叶皮质的皮质下和皮质连接组织进行了检查。使用逆行运输染料来绘制无颗粒岛叶皮质传出纤维至脑干内脏核（孤束核和臂旁核）、味觉 - 内脏和边缘丘脑核（分别为内侧腹基底核和背内侧丘脑）以及联合皮质（内侧前额叶皮质和对侧无颗粒岛叶皮质）的图谱。结果显示，同侧无颗粒岛叶皮质内的一个特定区域投射至上述所有皮质下和皮质区域。无颗粒岛叶皮质中的这个重叠区域从胼胝体膝部水平向前延伸至前连合交叉处向后。用与辣根过氧化物酶结合的小麦胚芽凝集素绘制了内侧腹基底核和背内侧丘脑以及嗅球至无颗粒岛叶皮质的顺行投射图谱。这些区域的终末皮质投射通常是分开的，除了在无颗粒岛叶皮质中紧邻鼻裂内侧的一个重叠区域。如逆行追踪研究所示，这个重叠区域与无颗粒岛叶皮质中皮质传出细胞投射至脑干、丘脑和联合皮质的重叠区域相匹配。我们将无颗粒岛叶皮质中的这个汇聚区域称为内脏皮质，并认为它参与了特定内脏感觉刺激与相关边缘或动机后果的有效整合。内脏皮质可能有助于调节机体对应激的内脏反应。
