Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy; PhD program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Ageing Res Rev. 2024 Jan;93:102140. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2023.102140. Epub 2023 Nov 24.
The zona incerta (ZI) is a subthalamic region composed by loosely packed neurochemically mixed neurons, juxtaposed to the main ascending and descending bundles. The extreme neurochemical diversity that characterizes this area, together with the diffuseness of its connections with the entire neuraxis and its hard-to-reach positioning in the brain caused the ZI to keep its halo of mystery for over a century. However, in the last decades, a rich albeit fragmentary body of knowledge regarding both the incertal anatomical connections and functional implications has been built mostly based on rodent studies and its lack of cohesion makes difficult to depict an integrated, exhaustive picture regarding the ZI and its roles. This review aims to provide a unified resource that summarizes the current knowledge regarding the anatomical profile of interactions of the ZI in rodents and non-human primates and the functional significance of its connections, highlighting the aspects still unbeknown to research.
脑板内核（ZI）是一个位于丘脑底核旁边的亚核团，由神经化学性质混杂的神经元组成，与主要的上行和下行束相邻。该区域的神经化学多样性非常显著，与整个神经系统的连接也非常弥散，而且其在大脑中的位置难以到达，这使得 ZI 笼罩在神秘的光环之下长达一个多世纪。然而，在过去的几十年里，人们基于啮齿动物研究积累了丰富但零散的关于 ZI 的解剖连接和功能意义的知识，但其缺乏凝聚力使得难以描绘出关于 ZI 及其作用的综合、详尽的图景。这篇综述旨在提供一个统一的资源，总结目前关于啮齿动物和非人类灵长类动物 ZI 的相互作用的解剖学特征及其连接的功能意义的知识，并突出仍不为研究所知的方面。
