Hearing Research Group, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio, USA.
Biomedical Sciences Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA.
J Comp Neurol. 2020 Nov 1;528(16):2695-2707. doi: 10.1002/cne.24926. Epub 2020 Apr 28.
The intercollicular region, which lies between the inferior and superior colliculi in the midbrain, contains neurons that respond to auditory, visual, and somatosensory stimuli. Golgi studies have been used to parse this region into three distinct nuclei: the intercollicular tegmentum (ICt), the rostral pole of the inferior colliculus (ICrp), and the nucleus of the brachium of the IC (NBIC). Few reports have focused on these nuclei, especially the ICt and the ICrp, possibly due to lack of a marker that distinguishes these areas and is compatible with modern methods. Here, we found that staining for GABAergic cells and perineuronal nets differentiates these intercollicular nuclei in guinea pigs. Further, we found that the proportions of four subtypes of GABAergic cells differentiate intercollicular nuclei from each other and from adjacent inferior collicular subdivisions. Our results support earlier studies that suggest distinct morphology and functions for intercollicular nuclei, and provide staining methods that differentiate intercollicular nuclei and are compatible with most modern techniques. We hope that this will help future studies to further characterize the intercollicular region.
脑桥间区位于中脑的下丘和上丘之间，包含对听觉、视觉和躯体感觉刺激有反应的神经元。高尔基染色研究已被用于将该区域分为三个不同的核：脑桥间被盖（ICt）、下丘的颅侧极（ICrp）和脑桥臂核（NBIC）。很少有报道关注这些核，特别是 ICt 和 ICrp，可能是因为缺乏一种能区分这些区域并与现代方法兼容的标志物。在这里，我们发现 GABA 能细胞和周围神经网的染色可以区分豚鼠的这些脑桥间核。此外，我们发现四种 GABA 能细胞亚型的比例可以区分脑桥间核彼此之间以及与相邻下丘细分之间的差异。我们的结果支持了早期的研究，即表明脑桥间核具有不同的形态和功能，并提供了可区分脑桥间核且与大多数现代技术兼容的染色方法。我们希望这将有助于未来的研究进一步描述脑桥间区。
