THALAMIC PARAVENTRICULAR NUCLEUS NEURONS COLLATERALIZE TO INNERVATE THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX AND NUCLEUS-ACCUMBENS

The prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens are primary recipients of medial thalamic inputs, prominently including projections from the tha lamic paraventricular nucleus. It is not known if paraventricular neur ons collateralize to innervate both the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. We used dual retrograde tract tracing methods to examine th is question. A small population of paraventricular neurons was found t o innervate the prefrontal cortex and medial nucleus accumbens. These data suggest that the thalamic paraventricular nucleus may coordinatel y influence activity in the prefrontal cortex and Ventral striatum. (C ) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.