Efferent connections of the anterior hypothalamic nucleus: a biocytin study in the cat

The efferent connections of the anterior hypothalamic nucleus (AH) were examined using biocytin as anterograde tracer in the cat. The results provide several new findings in addition to confirming earlier observations. In the hypothalamus, the AH projections terminated mainly in the medial regions which are related to the defensive, reproductive and feeding behaviors, and autonomic functions. Moreover, we found dense patches of the AH terminals in the medial preoptic area and ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, which suggests the existence of modular connections between sub-regions of each nucleus. In addition, the AH projected to regions which may be related to the emotional and autonomic responses, i.e., such regions in the amygdala, midline thalamus, septum, subthalamus, and midbrain. The data suggest that the AH may play an important role in the autonomic functions and behaviors between animals, and thus may play a key role in the defensive behavior elicited in the medial preoptic area and ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus.