Electrophysiological study of the nucleus accumbens, 1983

Pitts, Sidney A.

1980-1989

The nucleus accumbens, with its numerous connections, including the ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra, dorsal and medial raphe, ventral and dorsal hippocampus, and gigantocellular reticular nucleus, has been interpreted as serving as a nodal point of informational transfer between these and other brain structures. These neural systems are involved in regulation or modulation of behavioral, emotional, and endocrine states of an individual. Electrical stimulation given to the neural systems stated above produced different evoked potentials in nucleus accumbens. The ventral tegmental area evoked antidromic and orthodromic responses, while the dorsal and medial raphe produced non-fatiguing responses. From an area between the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra, two stimultaneously evoked potentials in the accumbens were recorded. The dorsal hippocampus produced evoked responses of variable latencies which fatigued in the course of train stimulation, and ventral hippocampus produced antidromic unit responses in accumbens. The gigantocellular reticular nucleus produced two responses, one indicating recruitment while the others one fatigued. The different potentials evoked in the accumbens illustrate the presence of a variety of connections to it with different physiological characteristics. This supports the contention that this nucleus can function as a nodal point of informational transfer between several systems of the brain.

text

application/pdf

1983-05-01

thesis

Master of Science (MS)

Atlanta University

Biology

Holland, Robert C.

Clark Atlanta University

Georgia--Atlanta

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:1983_pitts_sydney_a