Projections from the amygdaloid complex to the piriform cortex: A PHA-L study in the rat

Projections from the amygdala to the piriform cortex are proposed to provide a pathway via which the emotional system can modulate the processing of olfactory information as well as mediate the spread of seizure activity in epilepsy. To understand the details of the distribution and topography of these projections, we injected the anterograde tracer Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin into different nuclear divisions of the amygdaloid complex in 101 rats and analyzed the distribution and density of projections in immunohistochemically processed preparations. The heaviest projections from the amygdala to the piriform cortex originated in the medial division of the lateral nucleus, the periamygdaloid and sulcal subfields of the periamygdaloid cortex, and the posterior cortical nucleus. The heaviest terminal labeling was observed in layers Ib and III of the medial aspect of the posterior piriform cortex. Lighter projections to the posterior piriform cortex originated in the dorsolateral division of the lateral nucleus, the magnocellular and parvicellular divisions of the basal and accessory basal nuclei, and the anterior cortical nucleus. The projections to the anterior piriform cortex were light and originated in the dorsolateral and medial divisions of the lateral nucleus, the magnocellular division of the basal and accessory basal nuclei, the anterior and posterior cortical nuclei, and the periamygdaloid subfield of the periamygdaloid cortex. The results indicate that only selective amygdaloid nuclei or their subdivisions project to the piriform cortex. In addition, substantial projections from several amygdaloid nuclei converge in the medial aspect of the posterior piriform cortex. Via these projections, the amygdaloid complex can modulate the processing of olfactory information in the piriform cortex. In pathologic conditions such as epilepsy, these connections might provide pathways for the spread of seizure activity from the amygdala to extra-amygdaloid regions.