The corticopontine system in the rat. I. Mapping of corticopontine neurons.

The expanse of cerebral cortex containing corticopontine neurons was explored in rats. The retrograde tracer horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was iontophoresed into subdivisions of the pontine nuclei (PN). The densest projection was seen to originate from somatosensory and motor areas. Visual areas also provide a major contigent of corticopontine neurons, whereas auditory areas appear to have only a minor projection. Consistent labeling of cells was also seen in the granular cingulate cortex, especially in the junction region of anterior and posterior cingulate cortex. This and a sparse projection from dorsal and posterior "insular" cortex (rhinal sulcus) have not been described in detail in previous studies.