Basic Limbic System Anatomy of the Rat, 1976

If this were a traditional textbook of neuroanatomy, many pages would be devoted to a description of the ascending and descending pathways of the spinal cord and several chapters to the organization of the sensory and motor systems, and, perhaps, a detailed discussion of the neurological deficits that follow various types of damage to the nervous system would also be included. But in the first draft of this book, the spinal cord was mentioned only once (in a figure caption of Chapter 2) in order to illustrate the meaning of longitudinal and cross sections. Later, it was decided that even this cursory treatment of the spinal cord went beyond the scope of this text, and a carrot was substituted as the model. The organization of the sensory and motor systems and of the peripheral nervous system have received similar coverage. Thus, this is not a traditional text, and as a potential reader, you may be led to ask, "What's in this book for me?" This book is directed primarily toward those students of behavior who are either bored or frightened by the medically oriented texts that are replete with clinical signs, confusing terminology, and prolix descriptions of the human brain, an organ which is never actually seen in their laboratories. I should hasten to add, however, that this text may also serve some purpose for those who read and perhaps even enjoy the traditional texts.

1 A Brief History of the Study of Neuroanatomy.- The Early Anatomists.- Twentieth Century Advances.- Theoretical Approaches.- The Scope of This Volume.- 2 Neuroanatomical Procedures and Terminology.- Neuroanatomical Procedures.- Gross Observation.- Microscopic Observation.- Cell Body Stains.- The Golgi Stain.- The Cresylviolet Stain.- Fiber Stains.- Luxol Blue.- Iron Hematoxylin.- Silver Stains.- Specialized Fiber Stains.- Stains for Degenerating Fibers.- Histochemical Methods.- Chemically Specific Stains.- Axoplasmic Transport Methods.- Electrophysiological Methods.- Summary of Anatomical Terms.- Terms Defining Spatial Relationships.- Terms Defining Planes of Sections.- Terms Defining Lateral Positions.- Terms Defining Units of the Nervous System.- Terms Defining Pathways of Fibers and Impulses.- 3 The Limbic System Defined.- Ontogenetic and Phylogenetic Development.- Phylogeny.- Ontogeny.- Some Concluding Remarks.- 4 General Topography of the Limbic system.- The Hippocampus.- The Hypothalamus.- The Amygdaloid Complex.- The Olfactory System.- Cortical Structures.- Areas Related to the Limbic System.- The Thalamus.- The Tegmentum.- 5 The Fornix System and Related Hippocampal Connections.- Organizational Criteria.- The Dorsal Fornix System.- The Fimbrial System.- Other Hippocampal Connections.- Connections with Entorhinal Cortex.- Hippocampal Association Connections.- Hippocampal Commissures.- Summary.- 6 Connections of the Stria Medullaris and Habenulae.- The Septal Contribution.- The Preoptic Contribution.- The Thalamic Contribution.- The Amygdaloid Contribution.- The Contribution of the Interpeduncular Nucleus.- Projections from the Medial Habenula.- Projections from the Lateral Habenula.- Summary.- 7 The Stria Terminalis, the Ventral Amygdaloid Pathways, and Related Amygdaloid Connections.- Dorsal Component of Stria Terminalis.- Ventral Component of Stria Terminalis.- The Ventral Amygdalofugal Pathway.- Olfactory Connections.- Summary.- 8 The Medial Forebrain Bundle and Related Hypothalamic Connections.- Descending Fibers of the Medial Forebrain aundle.- Ascending Component of the Medial Forebrain Bundle.- Summary.- 9 The Lateral Olfactory Tract, the Anterior Commissure, and Other Olfactory Connections.- Olfactory Reception.- The Central Olfactory Connections.- The Anterior Commissure.- The Lateral Olfactory Tract.- The Vomeronasal System.- Summary.- 10 Cortical Extensions of the Limbic System.- Cingulate Cortex.- Topography.- Connections of the Cingulate Cortex.- Frontal Cortex.- Topography.- Connections of the Frontal Cortex.- The Entorhinal Cortex.- Topography.- Connections of the Entorhinal Cortex.- The Pyriform Cortex.- Summary.- 11 Histochemical Mapping of the Limbic System.- Monoamines.- The Noradrenergic System.- The Serotonergic System.- The Dopaminergic System.- The Nigrostriatal System.- The Ventral Dopaminergic Bundle.- The Acetylcholine Systems.- Summary.- 12 Some Fundamental Approaches to an Analysis of Limbic System Function.- The Structure-Function Problem.- Anatomical Specificity.- Behavioral Specificity.- Combining Anatomical and Behavioral Specificity.- Pharmacological Approaches.- Drugs That Mimic or Enhance Neurotransmitter Action.- Drugs That Block or Deplete the Neurotransmitter.- Specificity of Action.- Phylogenetic Approaches.- Ontogenetic Approaches.- Conclusions.- Appendix: A Bibliographic Uidge to Further Study of the Limbic System.- I: References Pertaining to Individual Chapters.- 1. A Brief History of the Study of Neuroanatomy.- 2. Neuroanatomical Procedures and Terminology.- 3. The Limbic System Defined.- 4. General Topography of the Limbic System.- 5. The Fornix System and Related Hippocampal Connections.- 6. Connections of the Stria Medullaris and Habenulae.- 7. The Stria Terminalis and Ventral Amygdaloid Pathways, and Related Amygdaloid Connections.- 8. The Medial Forebrain Bundle and Related Hypothalamic Connections.- 9. The Lateral Olfactory Tract, the Anterior Commissure, and Other Olfactory Connections.- 10. Cortical Extensions of the Limbic System.- 11. Histochemical Mapping of the Limbic System.- 12. Some Fundamental Approaches to an Analysis of Limbic System Function.- II: Reference Sources.- Rat Brain Atlases.- Textbooks of Neuroanatomy.- Technical Journals.- Author Index.- Structure Index.