Axon collaterals in the thalamic reticular nucleus from thalamocortical neurons of the rat ventrobasal thalamus.

Thalamocortical relay neurons from the rat ventrobasal nucleus were identified physiologically and injected intracellularly with horseradish peroxidase. The axons of these cells were followed through serial sections in order to determine if collaterals were given off within the ventrobasal nucleus or the thalamic reticular nucleus. No local collaterals were seen in the ventrobasal nucleus, thus indicating that interactions between relay cells in this nucleus are minimal. Of axons that could be followed into the internal capsule, 76% gave off visible collaterals in the thalamic reticular nucleus. Half of these axons had collaterals showing extensive branching with the potential of innervating a large number of thalamic reticular neurons. The other half had short, simple branches of restricted extent. No correlations were found between the physiological properties of a cell and the existence or extent of axon collaterals. These results describe the anatomical basis for the initial part of a feedback loop through the thalamic reticular nucleus that provides the major inhibitory influence on rat ventrobasal neurons.