Disease relevance of Subthalamus

• Selective regional neuron loss and gliosis in striatum, cerebral cortex, thalamus, subthalamus and hippocampus are well recognized as neuropathological correlates for the clinical manifestations of HD [1].
• The present study examined the effect of ibotenic acid lesions in the amygdaloid central nucleus (ACe) or in the lateral zona incerta of the subthalamus (LZI) on the acquisition of differential Pavlovian conditioning of bradycardia in rabbits [2].
• CONCLUSIONS: Within the anatomical limits of the study, the zona incerta is the area most sensitive to carbachol-induced generalized seizures [3].

Psychiatry related information on Subthalamus

• Direct injections of DL-alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA), an AMPA/quisqualic acid receptor agonist, into the medial or posterior zona incerta (ZI) produced a marked stimulation of locomotor activity accompanied by a postural change [4].
• Experiment 1 showed that bilateral coronal transections of the pontine tegmentum reduce mating and that the combination of a unilateral tegmental cut with a contralateral excitotoxin lesion of either the MPAH (Experiment 2) or subthalamus (Experiment 3) virtually eliminates copulation [5].
• Pre-training injections of serotonin into the nigra of rats produced strong amnesia of an aversively-motivated task (inhibitory avoidance) compared to similar injections into the cerebral cortex and zona incerta [6].
• Sleep deprivation also significantly increased the number of cells expressing NF-kappa B-dependent beta-galactosidase in the magnocellular lateral hypothalamus, zona incerta dorsal, as well as the adjacent subthalamus in the transgenic mice [7].
• Angiotensin (100 ng) reliably initiated drinking behavior and caused an increase in the discharge frequency of single neurons located in the perifornical area but had no effect on units in the zona incerta, ventromedial hypothalamus or farlateral hypothalamus [8].

High impact information on Subthalamus

• Retrograde fluorescent tracers were used to demonstrate a previously unknown but sizable direct gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-containing neuronal pathway from the zona incerta to the neocortex in rats [9].
• Many of the zona incerta neurons projecting to the parietal and occipital cortices could also be immunohistochemically stained with antibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase and GABA [9].
• [3H]Estradiol was concentrated in the nuclei of tyrosine hydroxylase-containing neurons in the nucleus arcuatus, nucleus periventricularis hypothalami, and the zona incerta [10].
• In the hypothalamic dopaminergic cell groups, all the cells of groups A12 and A14, as well as the majority of the dopaminergic cells of the zona incerta (A13), were found to contain moderate to strong glucocorticoid receptor immunoreactivity, but none of the large dopaminergic cells of the posterior hypothalamus (A11) showed such immunoreactivity [11].
• Moderate to strong hybridization was found in the dorsal thalamic nuclei, layers II and VI of the cerebral cortex, the anterior olfactory nucleus and primary olfactory cortex, the hypothalamic mammillary nuclei, the subthalamus, and the granule and mitral cells of the olfactory bulb [12].

Chemical compound and disease context of Subthalamus

• These results suggest that the AMPA/kainate glutamate receptor subtypes in the zona incerta may have a functional role in regulating locomotor activity [4].

Biological context of Subthalamus

• The rat melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) gene may produce, through alternative splicing, either the precursor of MCH and neuropeptide EI, two neuropeptides coexpressed in the zona incerta (ZI) and lateral hypothalamus (LHA), or a putative protein we named previously MCH-gene-overprinted-polypeptide (MGOP) [13].
• DA in a specific area of the zona incerta (ZI) (medial area at A 5.4 mm; de Groot atlas), and medial anterior hypothalamus (AH) overcame the pentobarbitone block and induced ovulation [14].
• To examine the role of the medial zona incerta (mZI) in female sexual behavior, ovariectomized estrogen- and progesterone-treated female rats were tested for sexual receptivity after bilateral injections of the selective neurotoxin ibotenic acid (3 micrograms/0.3 microliter) directly into the mZI [15].
• Microinjections of L-glutamate into the zona incerta of pentobarbital anesthetized rats caused decreases in blood pressure and heart rate [16].
• Since kainic acid appears to spare fibers of passage these results indicate that cellular components of the zona incerta contribute significantly to the regulation of food and water intake [17].

Anatomical context of Subthalamus

• In the diencephalon, PITX2 is expressed in neurons of the zona limitans intrathalamica and mammillary region and in gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-producing neurons of the zona incerta [18].
• TH mRNA levels in the DA perikarya located in the zona incerta and substantia nigra were not altered by treatment with a DA agonist, a DA antagonist, or PRL [19].
• The lateral septum and arcuate nucleus contained only ERalpha, whereas only ERbeta mRNA-containing cells were seen in the zona incerta [20].
• Double labeled cells were rarely seen in the zona incerta (A13) or the emerging ventral tegmental area (A10) [21].
• Neuromedin U-like immunoreactive neurons were present in the cranial motor nuclei, reticular nuclei, nucleus vestibularis lateralis, trigeminal sensory nuclei, colliculus superior and inferior, lemniscus lateralis, nucleus pontis, nucleus ruber, zona incerta, substantia innominata, horizontal limb of the diagonal band and cerebral cortex [22].

Associations of Subthalamus with chemical compounds

• Tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA in the neurons of the tuberoinfundibular region and zona incerta examined after gonadal steroid hormone treatment [23].
• Glutamatergic afferents from the subthalamus, pedunculopontine nucleus and frontal cortex can modulate the firing activity of dopamine neurons [24].
• RESULTS: Angiotensin-sensitive neurons located in the ventral posteromedial and ventral posterolateral thalamic nuclei, and in the zona incerta were excited mainly by angiotensin II [25].
• Furthermore, baclofen reduced the frequency of spontaneous miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents, but had no effect on their amplitude.These results provide evidence for presence of presynaptic GABA(B) receptors that modulate both GABA and glutamate release from afferent terminals in the subthalamus [26].
• Rats reared in isolation for 6-8 weeks had a significantly lower noradrenaline turnover in the brainstem and lower noradrenaline and dopamine turnover in a brain segment comprising all other areas except the cerebellum, pineal gland, thalamus, and subthalamus [27].

Gene context of Subthalamus

• Immunostaining intensity of TH was significantly lower (p = 0.0001) in - or - than in normal mice in perikarya of A12, but not in cell bodies of nonhypophysiotropic area A13 (medial zona incerta) [28].
• Although synaptobrevin/VAMP 1 is less abundant, it is the main isoform in particular brain areas (e.g. zona incerta at the subthalamus or nerve terminals surrounding thalamic neurons) [29].
• COX 2-ir neurons were also observed in the subparafascicular nucleus, the medial zona incerta, and pretectal area [30].
• 26 prolactin-inhibited neurons were diffusely distributed from the nucleus arcuatus to the zona incerta [31].
• An injection of MCH antiserum into mPOA prevented the rise in LH normally induced by leptin injected into the zona incerta [32].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Subthalamus

• Small injections of rhodamine coated microspheres or Fluoro-gold in the primary somatosensory cortex of animals at different stages of development revealed the existence of retrogradely labeled neurons in the rostral and dorsal subdivisions of the zona incerta from postnatal day 1 [33].
• In female rats, the rates of DA turnover were decreased in the median eminence and medial zona incerta and increased in the medial preoptic nucleus 2 weeks following ovariectomy [34].
• This study determined the birthdates of the tyrosine hydroxylase-(TH) immunoreactive (IR) neurons in the zona incerta (ZI), periventricular nucleus (PeVN) and arcuate nucleus (AN) of male and female rats. 'Long-survival' [3H]thymidine autoradiography combined with TH immunocytochemistry, the first enzyme of catecholamine synthesis, was used [35].
• In situ hybridization analysis with brain revealed that PLC-eta was abundantly expressed in various regions including cerebral cortex, hippocampus, zona incerta and cerebellar Purkinje cell layer, which are neuronal cell-enriched regions [36].

References