Summary
This study presents evidence for a retinal projection to neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) of the albino rat. In Golgi-Kopsch material dendrites from LHA-neurons are observed to extend through the supraoptic commissures into the optic tract. The presence of dendrites in the optic tract is confirmed by electron microscopy. Numerous axon terminals are observed forming asymmetric synaptic contacts with these dendritic profiles. Following bilateral enucleation, many of the preterminal axons and terminals in synaptic contact with dendrites in the optic tract demonstrate dark degeneration. After intraocular injection of horseradish peroxidase, there is marked labeling of preterminal axons and terminals in the optic tract. These observations indicate that LHA neurons receive a direct retinal projection from terminals making synaptic contact with dendrites of LHA-neurons extending into the optic tract.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ebbesson SOE (1970) On the organization of central visual pathways in vertebrates. Brain Behav Evol 3:178–194
Edmonds SC, Adler NT (1977) Food and light as entrainers of circadian running activity in the rat. Physiol Behav 18:915–919
Epstein AN (1971) The lateral hypothalamic syndrome: Its implications for the physiological psychology of hunger and thirst. In: Progress in physiological psychology. Academic Press, New York, Vol 4, pp 263–317
Fallon JH, Moore RY (1979) Superior colliculus efferents to the hypothalamus. Neurosci Lett 14:265–270
Hendrickson AE, Wagoner N, Cowan WM (1972) An autoradiographic and electron microscopic study of retino-hypothalamic connections. Z Zellforsch 135:1–26
Johnson JT, Levine S (1973) Influence of water deprivation on adrenocortical rhythms. Neuroendocrinology 11:268–273
Koizumi J, Nishino H (1976) Circadian and other rhythmic activity of neurones in the ventromedial nuclei and lateral hypothalamic area. J Physiol (Lond) 263:331–356
Krieger DT (1974) Food and water restriction shifts corticosterone, temperature, activity, and brain amine periodicity. Endocrinology 95:1195–1201
Krieger DT, Hauser H, Krey LC (1977) Suprachiasmatic nuclear lesions do not abolish food-shifted circadian adrenal and temperature rhythmicity. Science 197:398–399
Langford LA, Coggeshall RE (1979) Potassium ferricyanide: An improvement in neural fixation. Soc Neurosci Abs 5, 430
Mai JK (1979) Distribution of retinal axons within the late ral hypothalamic area. Exp Brain Res 34:373–377
Mulhouse OE (1969) A Golgi study of the descending medial forebrain bundle. Brain Res 15:341–363
Moore RY (1973) Retinohypothalamic projection in mammals: A comparative study. Brain Res 49:403–409
Moore RY (1978) Central neural control of circadian rhythms. In: Ganong WF, Martini L (eds) Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. Raven Press, New York, Vol 5, pp 185–206
Moore RY (1979) The retinohypothalamic tract, suprachiasmatic hypothalamic nucleus and central neural mechanisms of circadian rhythm regulation. In: Suda M, Hyaaishi O, Nakagawa H (eds) Biological rhythms and their central mechanism. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 343–354
Moore RY, Lenn NJ (1972) A retinohypothalamic projection in the rat. J Comp Neurol 146:1–14
Moore RY, Eichler VB (1976) Central neural mechanisms in diurnal rhythm regulation and neuroendocrine responses to light. Psychoneuroendocrinology 1:17–33
Moore RY, Karapas F, Lenn NJ (1971) A retinohypothalamic projection in the rat. Anat Rec 169:382–383
Mosko S, Moore RY (1978) Neonatal suprachiasmatic nucleus ablation: Absence of functional and morphological plasticity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 75:6243–6246
Nauta WJH, Haymaker W (1969) Hypothalamic nuclei and fiber connections. In: Haymaker W, Andersen E, Nauta WJH (eds) The Hypothalamus. Thomas, Springfield, Ill, pp 136–209
Ramon y Cajal S (1911) Histologie du système nerveux de l'Homme et des Vertébrés. Maloine, Paris
Riley JN (1979) A reliable Golgi-Kopsch modification, Brain Res Bull 4:127–129
Rusak B, Zucker I (1979) Neural regulation of circadian rhythms. Physiol Rev 59:449–526
Schmitt M (1973) Circadian rhythmicity in responses of cells in the lateral hypothalamus. Am J Physiol 225:1096–1101
Silver J, Brand S (1979) A route for direct retinal input to the preoptic hypothalamus: Dendritic projections into the optic chiasm. Am J Anat 155:391–402
Stephan FK, Swann JM, Sisk CL (1979a) Anticipation of 24 h feeding schedules in rats with lesions of the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Behav Neur Biol 25:356–363
Stephan FK, Swann JM, Sisk CL (1979b) Entrainment of circadian rhythms by feeding schedules in rats with suprachiasmatic lesions. Behav Neur Biol 25:545–554
Tarlov E, Moore RY (1966) The tectothalamic connections in the brain of the rabbit. J Comp Neurol 126:403–421
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Riley, J.N., Card, J.P. & Moore, R.Y. A retinal projection to the lateral hypothalamus in the rat. Cell Tissue Res. 214, 257–269 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00249210
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00249210