The Pallidum as a Dual Structure in Primates. In: Bernardi G, Carpenter MB, Di Chiara G, Morelli M, Stanzione P, editors. The Basal Ganglia III. Boston: Springer New York; 1991. pp. 81-8. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4684-5871-8_9]

The connections of the dopaminergic system with the striatum in rats and primates: an analysis with respect to the functional and compartmental organization of the striatum

This Commentary compares the connections of the dopaminergic system with the striatum in rats and primates with respect to two levels of striatal organization: a tripartite functional (motor, associative and limbic) subdivision and a compartmental (patch/striosome-matrix) subdivision. The topography of other basal ganglia projections to the dopaminergic system with respect to their tripartite functional subdivision is also reviewed. This examination indicates that, in rats and primates, the following observations can be made. (1) The limbic striatum reciprocates its dopaminergic input and in addition innervates most of the dopaminergic neurons projecting to the associative and motor striatum, whereas the motor and associative striatum reciprocate only part of their dopaminergic input. Therefore, the connections of the three striatal subregions with the dopaminergic system are asymmetrical, but the direction of asymmetry differs between the limbic versus the motor and associative striatum. (2) The limbic striatum provides the main striatal input to dopamine cell bodies and proximal dendrites, with some contribution from a subset of neurons in the associative and motor striatum (patch neurons in rats; an unspecified group of neurons in primates), while striatal input to the ventrally extending dopamine dendrites arises mainly from a subset of neurons in the associative and motor striatum (matrix neurons in rats; an unspecified group of neurons in primates). (3) Projections from functionally corresponding subdivisions of the striatum, pallidum and subthalamic nucleus to the dopaminergic system overlap, but the specific targets (dopamine cells, dopamine dendrites, GABA cells) of these projections differ. Major differences include the following. (1) In rats, neurons projecting to the motor and associative striatum reside in distinct regions, while in primates they are arranged in interdigitating clusters. (2) In rats, the terminal fields of projections arising from the motor and associative striatum are largely segregated, while in primates they are not. (3) In rats, patch- and matrix-projecting dopamine cells are organized in spatially, morphologically, histochemically and hodologically distinct ventral and dorsal tiers, while in primates there is no (bi)division of the dopaminergic system that results in two areas which have all the characteristics of the two tiers in rats. Based on the anatomical data and known dopamine cell physiology, we forward an hypothesis regarding the influence of the basal ganglia on dopamine cell activity which captures at least part of the complex interplay taking place within the substantia nigra between projections arising from the different basal ganglia nuclei. Finally, we incorporate the striatal connections with the dopaminergic system into an open-interconnected scheme of basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuitry.

Multiple striatal representation in primate substantia nigra

The pattern of arborization of the striatonigral fibers in the squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) was studied with Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) and biocytin as anterograde tracers. Single, small injections of PHA-L or biocytin in either the caudate nucleus or the putamen give rise to at least four distinct, nonoverlapping but interconnected fiber plexuses that are distributed throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) according to a strikingly precise and constant sequence. These plexuses, which comprise numerous fibers that closely entwine unlabeled dendrites of SNr neurons (woolly fibers), often lie at the base of dopaminergic cell columns of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). Long and varicose fibers emerge dorsally from SNr plexuses and climb along the ventrally oriented dendrites of dopaminergic SNc neurons, as visualized with tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry. These fibers appear to contact en passant both dendrites and cell bodies of dopaminergic neurons belonging to the ventral tier of SNc. Anterograde double-labeling experiments involving small deposits of PHA-L and biocytin in adjacent areas of the caudate nucleus and the putamen reveal that neighboring striatonigral cell populations form two distinct sets of terminal plexuses that remain well segregated throughout SNr. Plexuses from the two sources interdigitate in some parts of SNr, but never intermix. Furthermore, the woolly fibers in these plexuses are composed exclusively of either PHA-L- or biocytin-labeled elements; none of them display both types of labeling. These results reveal that the striatonigral projection in primates is highly divergent and that the striatum has multiple representations at nigral levels. They also indicate that striatal information is conveyed to the substantia nigra in a highly ordered fashion through multiple segregated channels.