Frontal projections to the region of the oculomotor complex in the rat: A retrograde and anterograde HRP study

Abstract

The retrograde and anterograde capabilities of the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) technique were employed to study frontal projections to the perioculomotor region in the rat. Following HRP microinjections or trans‐cannular HRP gel implants into the oculomotor complex (OMC), the majority of retrogradely labeled pyramidal cells were located in lamina V of the dorsomedial frontal shoulder cortex, i.e., medial precentral and anterior cingulate (PrCm/AC) cortices, the proposed frontal eye field (FEF) in the rat. A smaller number of labeled cells were present in the frontal polar cortex, agranular insular (AI), and lateral precentral (PrCl) cortices. Following HRP gel implants into the PrCM/Ac, anterogradely labeled projections were observed to the dorsal medial subthalamic region (nucleus campi Foreli, NCF) and medial accessory nucleus of Bechterew (MAB), and to other subcortical nuclei known to receive inputs from cortical area 8 in the monkey. These results, taken together with previous anatomical and physiological studies, support the conclusion that the PrCm/AC cortex contains the rat FEF. Its homo logy with the primate FEF is discussed.