Johnson L R, Aylward R L, Hussain Z, Totterdell S
University Department of Pharmacology, Oxford, U.K.
Neuroscience. 1994 Aug;61(4):851-65. doi: 10.1016/0306-4522(94)90408-1.
Both tyrosine hydroxylase-positive fibres from the mesolimbic dopamine system and amygdala projection fibres from the basolateral nucleus are known to terminate heavily in the nucleus accumbens. Caudal amygdala fibres travelling dorsally via the stria terminalis project densely to the nucleus accumbens shell, especially in the dopamine rich septal hook. The amygdala has been associated with the recognition of emotionally relevant stimuli while the mesolimbic dopamine system is implicated with reward mechanisms. There is behavioural and electrophysiological evidence that the amygdala input to the nucleus accumbens is modulated by the mesolimbic dopamine input, but it is not known how these pathways interact anatomically within the nucleus accumbens. Using a variety of neuroanatomical techniques including anterograde and retrograde tracing, immunocytochemistry and intracellular filling, we have demonstrated convergence of these inputs on to medium-sized spiny neurons. The terminals of the basolateral amygdala projection make asymmetrical synapses predominantly on the heads of spines which also receive on their necks or adjacent dendrites, symmetrical synaptic input from the mesolimbic dopamine system. Some of these neurons have also been identified as projection neurons, possibly to the ventral pallidum. We have shown a synaptic level how dopamine is positioned to modulate excitatory limbic input in the nucleus accumbens.
已知来自中脑边缘多巴胺系统的酪氨酸羟化酶阳性纤维和来自基底外侧核的杏仁核投射纤维都大量终止于伏隔核。通过终纹背行的尾侧杏仁核纤维密集投射到伏隔核壳，特别是在富含多巴胺的隔钩处。杏仁核与情感相关刺激的识别有关，而中脑边缘多巴胺系统与奖赏机制有关。有行为和电生理证据表明，杏仁核向伏隔核的输入受中脑边缘多巴胺输入的调节，但尚不清楚这些通路在伏隔核内如何在解剖学上相互作用。使用包括顺行和逆行追踪、免疫细胞化学和细胞内填充在内的多种神经解剖学技术，我们已经证明这些输入汇聚到中等大小的棘状神经元上。基底外侧杏仁核投射的终末主要在棘突头部形成不对称突触，这些棘突的颈部或相邻树突也接受来自中脑边缘多巴胺系统的对称突触输入。其中一些神经元也被确定为投射神经元，可能投射到腹侧苍白球。我们已经在突触水平上展示了多巴胺如何调节伏隔核中的兴奋性边缘输入。
