The efferent connections of the orbitofrontal, posterior parietal, and insular cortex of the rat brain.

The orbitofrontal, posterior parietal, and insular cortices are sites of higher-order cognitive processing implicated in a wide range of behaviours, including working memory, attention guiding, decision making, and spatial navigation. To better understand how these regions contribute to such functions, we need detailed knowledge about the underlying structural connectivity. Several tract-tracing studies have investigated specific aspects of orbitofrontal, posterior parietal and insular connectivity, but a digital resource for studying the cortical and subcortical projections from these areas in detail is not available.

Organization of Posterior Parietal-Frontal Connections in the Rat.

Recent investigations of the rat posterior parietal cortex (PPC) suggest that this region plays a central role in action control together with the frontal cortical areas. Posterior parietal-frontal cortical connections have been described in rats, but little is known about whether these connections are topographically organized as in the primate. Here, we injected retrograde and anterograde tracers into subdivisions of PPC as well as the frontal midline and orbital cortical areas to explore possible topographies within their connections.

Parahippocampal and retrosplenial connections of rat posterior parietal cortex.

The posterior parietal cortex has been implicated in spatial functions, including navigation. The hippocampal and parahippocampal region and the retrosplenial cortex are crucially involved in navigational processes and connections between the parahippocampal/retrosplenial domain and the posterior parietal cortex have been described. However, an integrated account of the organization of these connections is lacking.

Posterior parietal cortex of the rat: Architectural delineation and thalamic differentiation.

This study refines the characterization of the rat parietal cortical domain in terms of cyto- and chemoarchitecture as well as thalamic connectivity. We recognize three subdivisions of the posterior parietal cortex (PPC), which are architectonically distinct from the neighboring somatosensory and visual cortices. Furthermore, we show that the different parietal areas are differently connected with thalamic nuclei.

Glutamate: Where does it come from and where does it go?

Pyruvate carboxylation, the anaplerotic reaction in the brain, has been demonstrated in astrocytes but not neurons. Since anaplerosis cannot proceed without cataplerosis in a closed system such as the brain, there have to be mechanisms to degrade molecules such as glutamate, glutamine, GABA and aspartate which have more carbon atoms than pyruvate. Pyruvate recycling is a cataplerotic process which is very active in liver.

Pyruvate recycling in cultured neurons from cerebellum.

Pyruvate recycling is a pathway for complete oxidation of glutamate. The cellular location and the physiological significance of such recycling has been debated during the last decade. The present study was aimed at elucidating whether recycling takes place in neuron-enriched cultures of dissociated cerebella, consisting mainly of glutamatergic granule cells, some GABAergic neurons, and few astrocytes.