A di-synaptic projection from the lateral cerebellar nucleus to the laterodorsal part of the striatum via the central lateral nucleus of the thalamusin the rat

We have examined a cerebello-thalamo-striatal pathway from the lateral cere bellar nucleus (LCN) to the laterodorsal part of the striatum (LDS) through the central lateral nucleus (CL) using light and electron microscopy throu gh the employment of a combination of anterograde and retrograde tracing te chniques. Biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) was injected into the unilateral LCN, and used as an anterograde tracer. Cholera toxin B subunit (CTb), use d for light microscopy, and wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase (W GA-HRP), used for electron microscopy, were injected into the contralateral LDS as retrograde tracers. Light microscopic analysis showed a good overla p of the distribution of BDA-labeled axon terminals and CTb-labeled neurons in the middle third of the CL in both dorsoventral and rostrocaudal axes o n the LDS injection side. Electron microscopy confirmed the presence of dir ect synaptic contacts between BDA-labeled terminals and WGA-HRP-labeled den drites in the CL. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.