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Updated: Mar 18, 2026

Dissecting the Non-human Primate Brain in Stereotaxic Space
Published on: July 16, 2009
[THE THALAMIC DOPAMINERGIC SYSTEM. A NOVEL SYSTEM IN THE PRIMATE BRAIN]
Abstract:
The human and macaque monkey thalamus receives an abundant dopamine innervation, as revealed by immunolabeling of axons for molecules specific for the dopaminergic phenotype. The distribution of the innervation is highly heterogeneous, with specific association, limbic and motor nuclei receiving the densest innervation. The origin of thalamic dopamine is multiple; it includes dopaminergic nuclei in the hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray, ventral mesencephalon and lateral parabrachial nucleus. This novel dopaminergic system, notably developed in the primate brain, is rudimentary in rodents. Studying the thalamic dopaminergic system in primates opens new avenues for understanding neurological and psychiatric conditions.
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