Forebrain and midbrain structures involved in prey-catching behaviour of toads: stimulus-response mediating circuits...

In anurans, visual prey information is filtered in the retina and processed in interacting pretectal and tectal retinal projection fields. Neuropeptide Y is involved in pretecto-tectal inhibition. Information related to prey and its location in space is transmitted to the bulbar/spinal motor pattern generating systems by ensembles of efferent tectal and tegmental neurons. This basic stimulus-response (S-R) mediating circuit is influenced by forebrain loops. It is suggested that ventral striatum and lateral thalamic nucleus participate in a loop responsible for gating S-R. The hippocampal pallium modifies S-R via the anterior thalamus with regard to previous experience. Dopaminergic modulation influences prey-catching strategies.