The principal pathway from the piriform cortex to the deep amygdaloid nuclei in the cat

Pathways relaying olfactory information to the deep amygdaloid nuclei (AMYGd) were analyzed with electrophysiological techniques in anesthetized cats. Stimulation of the piriform cortex (PC) produced orthodromic spikes in some AMYGd neurons with a mean latency of 12.2 ms and antidromic responses in other neurons with a mean latency of 9.3 ms. Stimulation of the AMYGd produced antidromic spikes in some PC neurons with a mean latency of 11.5 ms. Some neurons in the entorhinal area (EA) were activated orthodromically from the PC with a mean latency of 22 ms, and a proportion of these cells was also activated antidromically from the AMYGd. Some neurons in the agranular insular cortex were activated orthodromically from the PC, but none of them responded antidromically to AMYGd stimulation. From these observations, it is suggested that olfactory information reaches the AMYGd directly from the PC or indirectly via the EA, and that the direct path conveys the major olfactory input from the PC to the AMYGd.