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P S Goldman-Rakic

Publications and source records attributed to P S Goldman-Rakic.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Ipsilateral cortical connections of granular frontal cortex in the strepsirhine primate Galago, with comparative comments on anthropoid primates.

Modern studies of granular frontal cortex (GFC) in large-brained, anthropoid primates, such as Macaca, indicate that this region is comprised of many areal subdivisions. These areas vary in their architectonic appearance and each has a distinctive, diverse set of corticocortical connections. The great extent of the GFC region in anthropoids, and its high degree of areal parcellation, suggest that some GFC areas may be specializations of anthropoids, not found in other mammals. To investigate this possibility, we studied the corticocortical connections of GFC in the relatively small-brained, strepsirhine primate Galago, with a series of eight tracer injections in the frontal cortex, and an additional eight injections of parietal and temporal cortex. Tracers used were wheat-germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase and tritiated amino acids. Our results indicate that Galago GFC has strong, reciprocal connections with the parietal area-7 complex and with higher-order temporal areas; there are additional connections with extrastriate visual cortex, parahippocampal, and cingulate areas, and frontal cortex. Thus GFC has an extremely diverse array of cortical connections in Galago, as in Macaca. However, we also found that the pattern of parietofrontal connections is simpler in Galago than in Macaca. Specifically, parietal areas project to fewer discrete zones within the GFC of Galago, consistent with the view that these animals have fewer GFC areas than Macaca. In addition, Galago GFC possesses connections that specifically resemble those of Macaca arcuate cortex, but lacks connectional patterns that are characteristic of principalis cortex. These results are in accord with our previous architectonic studies, which indicated that Galago does not possess homologues of principalis areas. We conclude that the arcuate areas are common elements of primate GFC organization, while the areas located within and adjacent to the principal sulcus are anthropoid specializations.

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Dual mode of corticothalamic synaptic termination in the mediodorsal nucleus of the rhesus monkey.

Electron microscopic autoradiography (EM-ARG) was used to assess the synaptic organization of corticothalamic terminals in the parvicellular division of the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus. Examination of the synaptic organization in unreacted tissue revealed several distinct synaptic types distributed among glomerular and nonglomerular regions of the neuropil. Within glomeruli, three presynaptic terminal classes were found. The majority of profiles (as many as eight to ten per glomerulus) were presynaptic dendrites (PSDs) forming symmetric synaptic contacts with a central dendrite, and occasionally with other PSDs. One or two large terminals densely packed with round vesicles (LR terminals) were also present in each glomerulus. This terminal class made multiple asymmetric contacts with the central dendrite, as well as with many PSDs within the glomerulus. Finally, small terminals with round vesicles (SR terminals) formed asymmetric synaptic junctions with PSDs in some glomeruli. PSDs and SR terminals were also found in the extraglomerular neuropil, although in different proportions than in the glomeruli. In the extraglomerular neuropil SR terminals were the most abundant terminal class and these terminals made synaptic contacts with dendrites of all sizes. PSDs were seen in considerably smaller numbers than in the glomeruli. Finally, the extraglomerular neuropil contained a moderate number of small to medium terminals that formed symmetric synaptic junctions (SF terminals) with cell bodies and dendrites of all sizes. Synaptic profiles related to corticothalamic inputs were identified by injecting the prefrontal cortex of two rhesus monkeys with 3H-leucine and -proline and analyzing the distribution and morphology of radiolabeled terminals. Quantitative analysis of the density of silver grains over different tissue compartments revealed a positive labeling index for two terminal classes: SR and LR terminals. Labeled SR terminals were concentrated in the extraglomerular neuropil and labeled LR terminals were found within glomeruli where they formed synaptic contact with the central dendrite, as well as with presynaptic dendrites of the glomerulus. In contrast to many other thalamic nuclei, cortical input to the mediodorsal nucleus arrives via two distinctive synaptic pathways, one terminating extraglomerularly and the other terminating within the synaptic glomeruli. The dual mode of corticothalamic terminations in the mediodorsal nucleus suggests a more potent and possibly different role for cortical input in the regulation of neuronal activity in this association nucleus than in sensory nuclei of the thalamus.

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Prenatal specification of callosal connections in rhesus monkey.

Anatomical tracing and quantitative techniques were used to examine the tempo and pattern of maturation for callosal projection neurons in the monkey prefrontal cortex (PFC) during fetal and postnatal development. Nineteen monkeys were injected with retrograde tracers (fluorescent dyes, horseradish peroxidase conjugated to wheat germ agglutinin [WGA-HRP] or HRP crystals) at various ages between embryonic day 82 (E82) and adulthood. The size of injection sites was varied in fetal, newborn, and adult cases. In adults, labeled neurons were found in greatest density in the homotopic cortex of the opposite hemisphere and considerable numbers were also observed in a constellation of heterotopic areas including the medial and lateral orbital cortex, the dorsomedial convexity, and the pregenual cortex. The majority of labeled neurons were consistently concentrated in the lower half of layer III in all areas. In cases with large injection sites, callosal neurons of layer III formed a continuous and uninterrupted band that extended over the entire lateral surface of the prefrontal cortex spanning both homotopic and heterotopic areas. In contrast, in cases with small injection sites, the labeling of layer III neurons exhibited discontinuities. Between embryonic ages E82 and E89, injections limited to the cortical layers labeled only a small number of neurons in the opposite hemisphere, indicating that few callosal axons have invaded the cortex by this age. However, by E111 comparable injections labeled a large number of callosal neurons and many features of their distribution were adult-like. The number and constellation of cytoarchitectonic areas that were labeled in the frontal cortex of the opposite hemisphere were the same as in adults and the majority of callosal neurons were found in supragranular layer III. Finally, in fetal animals beyond E111, labeled neurons extended as a nearly unbroken band over a wide expanse of the dorsolateral PFC, resembling the pattern seen in adult monkeys with large injections. The conclusion we draw from these results, together with our earlier findings (Schwartz and Goldman-Rakic: Nature 299:154, 1982), is that callosal neurons whose axons enter the cortical layers of the primate prefrontal cortex achieve their mature laminar and areal distribution prior to birth and do so largely by cumulative processes.

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D1 dopamine receptors in prefrontal cortex: involvement in working memory.

The prefrontal cortex is involved in the cognitive process of working memory. Local injections of SCH23390 and SCH39166, selective antagonists of the D1 dopamine receptor, into the prefrontal cortex of rhesus monkeys induced errors and increased latency in performance on an oculomotor task that required memory-guided saccades. The deficit was dose-dependent and sensitive to the duration of the delay period. These D1 antagonists had no effect on performance in a control task requiring visually guided saccades, indicating that sensory and motor functions were unaltered. Thus, D1 dopamine receptors play a selective role in the mnemonic, predictive functions of the primate prefrontal cortex.

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Early phenotype expression of cortical neurons: evidence that a subclass of migrating neurons have callosal axons.

The use of [3H]thymidine labeling in combination with various axonal transport tracers has revealed that a subset of migrating neurons in the fetal monkey cerebrum issue axons to the opposite cerebral hemisphere while still migrating to their final positions in the cortical plate. Other cortical neurons with the same "birthdate" (i.e., that underwent their last round of DNA synthesis on the same day) are not retrogradely labeled by tracer injections of the opposite hemisphere. These findings suggest that the cardinal distinction between projection and local circuit neurons may be specified in postmitotic neurons before they acquire their final positions in the cortex.

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Distribution of dopaminergic receptors in the primate cerebral cortex: quantitative autoradiographic analysis using [3H]raclopride, [3H]spiperone and [3H]SCH23390.

A widespread distribution of dopamine D1 receptors in the neocortex is well recognized. However, the presence of dopamine D2 receptors in this structure has only recently been established [Martres et al. (1985) Eur. J. Pharmac. 118, 211-219; Lidow et al. (1989) Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86, 6412-6416]. In the present paper, a highly specific antagonist, [3H]raclopride, was used for autoradiographic determination of the distribution of D2 receptors in 12 cytoarchitectonic areas of the frontal, parietal, and occipital lobes of the rhesus monkey. A low density of D2-specific [3H]raclopride binding (1.5-4.0 fmol/mg tissue) was detected in all layers of all cortical areas studied. Throughout the entire cortex, the highest density of binding was consistently found in layer V. This is a unique distribution not observed so far for any other neurotransmitter receptor subtype in monkey cerebral cortex, including D1 receptor. In addition, a comparison was made of the distribution of [3H]raclopride and [3H]spiperone, which has been commonly used in previous attempts to label cortical D2 receptors. We found marked differences in the distribution of these two radioligands. In the prefrontal cortex, the pattern of [3H]spiperone binding in the presence of ketanserin resembled the combined distribution of 5-HT1C serotoninergic and alpha 2-adrenergic sites as well as D2 receptors. Thus, [3H]raclopride provides a better estimation of the D2 receptor distribution than does [3H]spiperone. The distribution of D2-specific binding of [3H]raclopride was also compared with the D1-specific binding of [3H]SCH23390 in the presence of mianserin to block labeling to 5-HT2 and 5-HT1C sites. The density of D1-specific [3H]SCH23390 binding was 10-20 times higher than that of D2-specific [3H]raclopride binding throughout the cortex. The densities of both [3H]raclopride and [3H]SCH23390 binding sites display a rostral-caudal gradient with the highest concentrations in prefrontal and the lowest concentrations in the occipital cortex. However, the binding sites of these two ligands had different laminar distributions in all areas examined. In contrast to preferential [3H]raclopride binding in layer V, a bilaminar pattern of [3H]SCH23390 labeling was observed in most cytoarchitectonic areas, with the highest concentrations in supragranular layers I, II and IIIa and infragranular layers V and VI. Whereas [3H]raclopride binding was similar in all cytoarchitectonic areas, [3H]SCH23390 exhibited some region-specific variations in the primary visual and motor cortex. The different regional and laminar distributions of D1 and D2 dopaminergic receptors indicates that they may subserve different aspects of dopamine function in the cerebral cortex.

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Topographic segregation of corticostriatal projections from posterior parietal subdivisions in the macaque monkey.

The distribution of corticostriatal projections from areas 7m, 7a, 7b and 7ip of the posterior parietal cortex was studied in rhesus monkeys using horseradish peroxidase conjugated with wheat-germ agglutinin as an anterograde tracer. All parietal subdivisions project bilaterally over a broad anteroposterior expanse of the caudate nucleus and putamen; however, the zones of densest terminal labeling varied for each parietal subdivision. Thus, area 7m projects preferentially to dorsal and dorsolateral portions of the head and anterior part of the body of the caudate nucleus. The main striatal target of area 7a is also in the head and anterior portion of the body of the caudate nucleus, but at dorsal and dorsomedial zones. The preferential target region of area 7ip in the striatum is in the posterior two-thirds of the body of the caudate nucleus, where the labeled terminals spare only the medial border. In contrast to the other parietal subdivisions, 7b projects preferentially to the putamen. In this nucleus, the location of labeling after 7b injections appears to correspond to the zones containing the representations of the distal forelimb and head. Each parietal subdivision projects to a rather extended anteroposterior domain in the contralateral neostriatum, the projection zones being always less extensive than in the ipsilateral side, but with a similar topographic distribution. Because we have shown previously that each parietal subdivision is part of a distinct distributed corticocortical network, the neostriatal territories innervated by each subdivision can be correlated with the corresponding network, thus providing insight into the functional specializations of the striatum.

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Commentary: the acquisition and use of human brain tissue in neuropsychiatric research.

Witelson and McCulloch (1991) report on the establishment of a collection of normal human brain tissue that was secured through a unique method of premortem and postmortem assessments. Their work highlights the growing need in neuro-scientific research for carefully characterized collections of human brain tissue from both normal control subjects and patients with specific neuropsychiatric disorders. Brain tissue of this type, however, has not been readily available. Patients with mental disorders may not be competent to consent to a postmortem brain donation; other obstacles include various socioeconomic and legal impediments to autopsies. In addition, a number of methodologic issues exist regarding human brain tissue collections, including the problem of standardized postmortem diagnostic assessment and difficulty in establishing uniform procedures for processing formalin-fixed and frozen tissue. Various proposals to enhance brain-tissue collections are discussed. These include the establishment of networks for tissue donation and use, the linking of ultimate postmortem brain tissue collection to prospective clinical studies, and promulgation of standardized procedures for methods of postmortem diagnosis and tissue handling.

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Neuronal activity related to saccadic eye movements in the monkey's dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

1. Single-neuron activity was recorded from the prefrontal cortex of monkeys performing saccadic eye movements in oculomotor delayed-response (ODR) and visually guided saccade (VGS) tasks. In the ODR task the monkey was required to maintain fixation of a central spot throughout the 0.5-s cue and 3.0-s delay before making a saccadic eye movement in the dark to one of four or eight locations where the visual cue had been presented. The same locations were used for targets in the VGS tasks; however, unlike the ODR task, saccades in the VGS tasks were visually guided. 2. Among 434 neurons recorded from prefrontal cortex within and surrounding the principal sulcus (PS), 147 changed their discharge rates in relation to saccadic eye movements in the ODR task. Their response latencies relative to saccade initiation were distributed between -192 and 460-ms, with 22% exhibiting presaccadic activity and 78% exhibiting only postsaccadic activity. Among PS neurons with presaccadic activity, 53% also had postsaccadic activity when the monkey made saccadic eye movements opposite to the directions for which the presaccadic activity was observed. 3. Almost all (97%) PS neurons with presaccadic activity were directionally selective. The best direction and tuning specificity of each neuron were estimated from parameters used to fit a Gaussian tuning curve function. The best direction for 62% of the neurons with presaccadic activity was toward the contralateral visual field, with the remaining neurons having best directions toward the ipsilateral field (23%) or along the vertical meridian (15%). 4. Most postsaccadic activity of PS neurons (92%) was also directionally selective. The best direction for 48% of these neurons was toward the contralateral visual field, with the remaining neurons having best directions toward the ipsilateral field (36%) or along the vertical meridian (16%). Eighteen percent of the neurons with postsaccadic activity showed a reciprocal response pattern: excitatory responses occurred for one set of saccade directions, whereas inhibitory responses occurred for roughly the opposite set of directions. 5. Sixty PS neurons with saccade-related activity in the ODR task were also examined in a VGS task. Forty of these neurons showed highly similar profiles of directional specificity and response magnitude in both tasks, 13 showed saccade-related activity only in the ODR task, and 7 changed their response characteristics between the ODR and VGS tasks.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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Autoradiographic comparison of D1-specific binding of [3H]SCH39166 and [3H]SCH23390 in the primate cerebral cortex.

Quantitative autoradiography was used to compare the binding of the novel dopamine D1 receptor antagonist, [3H]SCH39166, with that of the widely used radioligand, [3H]SCH23390 (in the presence of ritanserin), in the primate cerebral cortex. Specific binding of both radioligands, determined using SCH23390 or cis-flupentixol as displacing agents, had very similar densities and distributions throughout the cortex. However, the specific binding of [3H]SCH39166 obtained with SCH39166 as a blank was significantly higher than that obtained using SCH23390 or cis-flupentixol as displacing agents in some layers of motor, somatosensory and occipital cortices. In addition, the non-specific binding of [3H]SCH39166 obtained in the presence of an excess of SCH23390 of cis-flupentixol displayed a complex laminar pattern very different from that of the specific binding. These observations suggest that [3H]SCH39166 may have a high affinity to more than the D1 receptor subtype bound by SCH23390 or cis-flupentixol. Also, these additional sites are likely to be different from 5-HT2 or 5-HT1C receptors since the latter sites were not displaced by 1 microM SCH23390.

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DARPP-32, a phosphoprotein enriched in dopaminoceptive neurons bearing dopamine D1 receptors: distribution in the cerebral cortex of the newborn and adult rhesus monkey.

DARPP-32, a dopamine (DA) and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein, is associated with dopaminoceptive neurons bearing D-1 receptors in the basal ganglia. The present study addressed the distribution of DARPP-32 in the primate cerebral cortex and its putative association with D-1 receptor laden cells in this structure. DARPP-32-like immunoreactive (LIR) neurons were examined in the cerebral cortex of 3-day-old (P3), 6-week-old (P42), and adult rhesus monkeys. In the younger cases, a large number of DARPP-32 positive neurons, with the morphological characteristics of pyramidal cells, were observed throughout the cortex, in layers V-VI, and to a lesser extent in layer II and uppermost layer III. In the parietal, insular, temporal, and occipital cortices, DARPP-32 positive neurons were arranged in a monolayer in layer Va. They were often clustered in small groups with a bundling of their dendrites. In the primary motor cortex, Betz cells were among the labeled population. In the association and somatosensory areas, the basal dendrites of DARPP-32 positive neurons and the prominent tufting of their apical dendrites in layer I contributed to an essential bilaminar pattern resembling the distribution reported for DA afferents and D-1 receptors in these areas. The prominence and widespread distribution of DARPP-32 positive neurons in layer V may be a specialization of primate cortex since such cells are found only in restricted locations in rodents. The literature on the connections of the cerebral cortex suggests that a large number of the DARPP-32 positive neurons in layer VI and perhaps even in layer Va may be corticothalamic neurons. An important developmental observation was the presence of DARPP-32-LIR neurons in the white matter. They were prominent in the neonates but could not be seen in the adult. Their location as well as their type and shape were reminiscent of interstitial neurons. In the adult monkeys, the distribution of DARPP-32-LIR neurons was more circumscribed: they were numerous in the ventral temporal gyrus and in areas related to the limbic system: caudal orbitofrontal cortex, insula, temporal pole, entorhinal, and anterior cingulate cortex. Weak labeling was detected in layer Va of the superior temporal and parietal cortex, in some prefrontal areas (10, 13, and medial 9), and in the premotor and supplementary motor cortex; in adults, unlike neonates, few DARPP-32-LIR neurons were present in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the primary motor or the primary visual or prestriate cortices.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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Topographic intermingling of striatonigral and striatopallidal neurons in the rhesus monkey.

The topography and interrelationship of striatofugal neurons have been examined using a double retrograde tracing paradigm to label striatopallidal and striatonigral neurons in the same neostriatum. The rostral globus pallidus and the rostral substantia nigra in the same hemisphere were injected simultaneously with fluorescent tracers in three monkeys. In addition, the caudal globus pallidus and the caudal substantia nigra were injected separately in a fourth and fifth monkey with a fluorescent dye and wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP), respectively. Digitized plots of fluorescent dye-labeled neurons revealed that large numbers of striatonigral projection neurons lie within both neostriatal nuclei, i.e., the caudate and putamen. Similarly, neurons innervating the globus pallidus were found in both caudate and putamen. The distribution of retrogradely labeled neurons observed was consistent with the topography of striatofugal projections that has been described previously, i.e., the rostrocaudal and mediolateral axes of the neostriatum are preserved in the striatopallidal and striatonigral projections (e.g., Szabo, '62, '67, '70, '72) and the dorsoventral axis is inverted in the projection of the neostriatum onto the nigra but not in the striatopallidal projection (Nauta and Domesick, '79; Gerfen, '85). Analysis of cases in which striatonigral and striatopallidal neurons were present in large numbers within the same region of the neostriatum disclosed that the two populations are intermingled such that small clusters of striatopallidal neurons are surrounded by striatonigral neurons and vice versa. The clustered arrangement of striatofugal neurons observed in the fluorescent cases was unambiguous in a case in which HRP was injected into the caudal substantia nigra. In this case, both anterogradely labeled terminals and retrogradely labeled neurons exhibited a striking, compartmental-like distribution in the posterior putamen. Our observations indicate that the matrix compartment of the neostriatum is comprised of a patchwork of interposed clusters of nigral and pallidal efferent neurons. We hypothesize that these clusters of efferent neurons may direct interdigitated cortical inputs into distinct nigro- and pallido-thalamic pathways. In view of the parallel nature of processing throughout the basal ganglia, it appears that convergence of these segregated nigral and pallidal loops must occur at the cortical level where prefrontal and premotor targets of the basal ganglia are interconnected via corticocortical projections (Selemon and Goldman-Rakic, '88).

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Regional distribution of cholecystokinin binding sites in macaque basal ganglia determined by in vitro receptor autoradiography.

Cholecystokinin binding sites were labeled with [3H]cholecystokinin-8, [125I]cholecystokinin-33, and [125I]cholecystokinin-8 in major structures of macaque basal ganglia by in vitro receptor autoradiography. Analysis of autoradiograms revealed areas of heavy cholecystokinin binding in the neostriatum and substantia nigra that were set off, often quite sharply, from the adjacent globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus where labeling was, by contrast, very light. Heavy label characterized the ventromedial and posterior parts of the caudate nucleus and adjacent putamen, binding was of moderate intensity in central areas of these regions, while, the dorsolateral margin of the head of the caudate and precommissural putamen, the dorsolateral one-third of the body of the caudate, and all but the most medial and ventral portions of the posterior putamen lateral to the pallidum were sparsely labeled. The pattern of cholecystokinin binding within the neostriatum was mottled; patches of reduced label stood out from the background of more prominent binding. However, those patches were only imperfectly correlated with the striosomal organization of both the caudate nucleus and putamen as revealed by acetylcholinesterase staining. Cholecystokinin binding in the substantia nigra was also intricately patterned. Moderately dense, vertically orientated bands of label were found in the dorsal one-third to half of the pars reticulata, providing a marked contrast to the near background levels in the ventral pars reticulata and overlying pars compacta. The present study shows that heavy cholecystokinin binding is confined to particular areas within the primate basal ganglia; the pattern of label within the substantia nigra and neostriatum can be linked to intrinsic and afferent connections of these structures. The confinement of binding sites to the dorsal pars reticulata suggests an association with dendrites of pars compacta neurons which invade this region; this interpretation is consistent with recent evidence of depletion of nigral cholecystokinin binding sites in macaques following chemical lesion of dopaminergic cells of the par compacta. In the neostriatum the distribution of binding shows overlap with its topographically organized corticostriatal innervation; portions of heavily labeled striatum coincide with regions innervated by association cortex of the frontal and temporal lobes, whereas regions of diminished binding correspond to areas innervated mainly by sensory and motor cortex. These latter findings suggest that cholecystokinin may have a particularly strong influence on cognitive aspects of striatal function.

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Visuospatial coding in primate prefrontal neurons revealed by oculomotor paradigms.

1. Visual responses and their relationship to delay-period activity were studied by recording single neuron activity from the prefrontal cortex of rhesus monkeys while they performed an oculomotor delayed-response (ODR) and a visual probe (VP) task. In the ODR task, the monkey was required to maintain fixation of a central spot of light throughout the cue (0.5 s) and delay (3 s) periods and then make a saccadic eye movement to one of four or eight locations where the visual cue had been presented. In the VP task, the same visual stimuli that were used in the ODR task were presented for 0.5 s, but no response was required. The VP task was thus employed to test the passive visual response and, by comparison with cue-elicited activity in the ODR task, to examine the degree of behavioral enhancement present in prefrontal visual activity. 2. Among 434 neurons recorded from the prefrontal cortex within and surrounding the principal sulcus (PS), 261 had task-related activity during at least one phase of the ODR task, and 74 of these had phasic visual responses to the onset of the visual cues with a median latency of 116 ms. The visual responses of 69 neurons were excitatory, and 5 neurons were inhibited. Five of the neurons with excitatory visual responses also responded transiently after the offset of the cue. 3. Visual responses were classified as directional for 71 PS neurons (96%) in that excitatory or inhibitory responses occurred only for location of cues in a restricted portion of the visual field. Only 3 PS neurons were omnidirectional, i.e., responded equivalently to cues in all locations tested. 4. The best direction and tuning specificity of all PS neurons with directional visual responses were estimated from parameters yielding the best fit to a Gaussian-shaped tuning function. The best direction for the majority (71%) of neurons was toward the visual field contralateral to the hemisphere where the neuron was located. The remaining neurons had their best directions in the ipsilateral field (18%) or along the vertical meridian (11%). 5. The specificity of directional tuning for PS visual responses was quite variable, ranging from neurons that responded only to one of the eight cue locations to neurons that responded to all eight, but in a clearly graded fashion. The standard deviation parameter of the Gaussian curve indexed the breadth of directional tuning of each neuron; its median value was 37 degrees.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

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Overlap of dopaminergic, adrenergic, and serotoninergic receptors and complementarity of their subtypes in primate prefrontal cortex.

Quantitative in vitro autoradiography was used to determine and compare the areal and laminar distribution of the major dopaminergic, adrenergic, and serotonergic neurotransmitter receptors in 4 cytoarchitectonic regions of the prefrontal cortex (Walker's areas 12, 46, 9, and 25) in adult rhesus monkeys. The selective ligands, 3H-SCH-23390, 3H-raclopride, 3H-prazosin, and 3H-clonidine were used to label the D1 and D2 dopamine receptor subtypes and the alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenergic receptors, respectively, while 125I-iodopindolol was used to detect beta-adrenergic receptors. The radioligands, 3H-5-hydroxytryptamine and 3H-ketanserin labeled, respectively, the 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 receptors. Densitometry was performed on all cortical layers and sublayers for each of the 7 ligands to allow quantitative as well as qualitative comparison among them in each cytoarchitectonic area. Although each monoamine receptor was distributed in a distinctive laminar-specific pattern that was remarkably similar from area to area, there was considerable overlap among the dopaminergic, adrenergic, and serotoninergic receptors, while subtypes of the same receptor class tended to have complementary laminar profiles and different concentrations. Thus, the D1 dopamine, the alpha 1- and alpha 2-adrenergic, and the 5-HT1 receptors were present in highest relative concentration in superficial layers I, II, and IIIa (the "S" group). In contrast, the beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic subtypes and the 5-HT2 receptor had their highest concentrations in the intermediate layers, IIIb and IV (the "I" group), while the D2 receptor was distinguished by relatively high concentrations in the deep layer V compared to all other layers (the "D" class). Consequently, clear laminar differences were observed in the D1 vs D2 dopaminergic, the alpha- vs beta-adrenergic, and the 5-HT1 vs 5-HT2 serotoninergic receptor subtypes in all 4 areas examined. The anatomical overlap of different monoaminergic receptors in the same cortical strata suggests that there may be families of receptors linked by localization on common targets, while the complementary laminar distribution of the D1 vs D2, the 5-HT1 vs 5-HT2 and the alpha- vs beta-adrenergic receptors raises the possibility that different subtypes within a given class may have distinctive actions in cortex by virtue of their localization on different cells or possibly different portions of the same cell. Understanding the anatomical arrangement of receptors within the cortical layers may aid in the analysis of monoaminergic modulation of higher cortical function.

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