An HRP study of neural pathways to neocortical olfactory areas in monkeys

Afferent fiber projections to the two orbitofrontal olfactory areas of monkeys were studied using the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) technique. After injections of HRP into the lateroposterior (LPOF) or centroposterior (CPOF) area of the orbitofrontal cortex, some differences were found in the distribution of labeled cells between the projections to the LPOF and CPOF. These results, along with those of previous electrophysiological investigations, suggest the following conclusions: (1) the extrathalamic olfactory pathway to the LPOF identified by Tanabe et al. has relay neurons primarily in the substantia innominata and the amygdala and, secondarily, in the prorhinal cortex and the hypothalamus; (2) direct fibers to the LPOF from the amygdala and the prorhinal cortex pass through the areas ventral to the thalamus; (3) the transthalamic olfactory pathway to the CPOF identified by Yarita et al. has relay neurons concentrated primarily in the magnocellular portion of the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus.