ePoster

Direct projections from the contralateral amygdala to extrastriate areas in the marmoset monkey

Sadaf Teymornejad, Katrina Worthy, Nafiseh Atapour, Marcello Rosa
FENS Forum 2024(2024)
Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Conference

FENS Forum 2024

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Resources

Authors & Affiliations

Sadaf Teymornejad, Katrina Worthy, Nafiseh Atapour, Marcello Rosa

Abstract

In primates, the amygdala forms projections that target large expanses of the ipsilateral cerebral cortex, from the frontal to the occipital lobe. However, it has remained unknown to what extent the amygdala complex also forms monosynaptic connections with the contralateral visual cortex, other than inferior temporal areas. Here we report on the results of 8 retrograde tracer injections (Fast Blue, and CTB conjugated with Alexa fluorophores) placed in the caudal extrastriate visual cortex of 6 marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus), under Alfaxan anaesthesia, followed by 2 weeks transport time. These experiments revealed that the ipsilateral amygdala formed connections to area V2, as well as both dorsal stream (MT, V3a, and parietal area PFG) and ventral stream (V4, TEO) areas. In addition, contralateral projections were also observed, targeting all of these areas. Labelled neurons were primarily located in the lateral nuclear complex of the amygdala in both hemispheres. The number of labelled neurons in the contralateral amygdala was always small relative to the ipsilateral connection (<10%). These results confirm the ubiquity of amygdalofugal projections to extrastriate cortex, and reveal pathways through which visual stimuli conveying affective content can directly influence early stages of neural processing in the contralateral visual field.

Unique ID: fens-24/direct-projections-from-contralateral-23c89027