ネコ聴覚領皮質と視床の相互支配について

The reciprocal relationships between the auditory cortical areas and the thalamus were investigated in the cat by means of retrograde axoplasmic flow with the use of horseradish peroxidase and Fink-Heimer method. The following results were obtained. 1) AI receives its principal projection from the pars lateralis of the ventral nucleus of the medial geniculate body and sends reciprocal projection to the homologous area of the pars lateralis, establishing a topographically organized relationship between these thalamocortical and corticothalamic systems. 2) Ventral Ep receives its thalamocortical fibers from the pars ventrolateralis and pars ovoidea of the ventral nucleus but sends no reciprocal fibers to this cortical area. 3) AII, SF and Insula are reciprocally connected with the dorsal nucleus of the medial geniculate body. 4) In addition, all of these cortical auditory areas are shown to maintain fairly diffuse reciprocal relationships with the posterior nuclear group including the magnocellular portion of the medial geniculate body. Insula is unique in that the reciprocal innervation is also found in the interstitial nucleus of the brachium of the inferior colliculus and the nucleus of the parabrachial region which are structures belonging to the miclbrain. Thus, the thalamocortical auditory system appears to be organized by two parallel systems. One is the pars lateralis-AI system accompanied by the less prominent pars ventrolateralis, pars ovoidea-ventral Ep pathway. This projection system is in direct line from the inferior colliculus via the brachium. The other is the dorsal nucleus-AII, SF and Insula and is in line of the lateral tegmental auditory system. All of these cortical areas receive from and send projections to the posterior nuclear group as well and this area of the thalamus appears to serve the "non-specific" thalamic projections to the auditory cortex

HRP法によるネコ唾液核の同定

The localizations of the inferior and superior salivatory nuclei that give rise to parasympathetic fibers to the parotid, submandibular and sublingual glands were identified in cats by means of the horseradish peroxidase method. The inferior salivatory nucleus exists in the dorsal part of the reticular formation in the medulla oblongata. Although the superior salivatory nucleus has been said to exist in the pons, the nucleus demonstrated in this study does not exist in the pons but does exist in the dorsal part of the reticularformation of the rostral medulla oblongata. Neurons of the salivatory nuclei were medium-sized and multipolar with densely stained Nissl substance

Risk factors for left atrial thrombus from transesophageal echocardiography findings in ischemic stroke patients

Background: To identify the cause of cerebral embolism, we performed transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in patients suspected of embolic brain infarction including transient ischemic attack (TIA). We analyzed TEE findings and investigated factors associated with left atrial thrombus (LAT) detected by TEE. Methods: We enrolled 98 consecutive patients who underwent TEE and had acute brain infarction or TIA that was possibly due to embolism. We assessed age, sex, presence of atrial fibrillation (AF), days from admission to TEE and TEE findings, including the prevalence of LAT, spontaneous echo contrast (SEC), left atrial appendage (LAA) slow flow velocity, patent foramen ovale (PFO), atrial septal aneurysm and aortic plaque (ASA). Results: LAT was detected with TEE in 20 patients (20%). The factors that were significantly associated with the presence of LAT were male sex (unadjusted odds ratio (OR), 3.94; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.07-14.58; p=0.037), presence of AF (unadjusted OR, 9.58; 95% CI, 2.58-35.50; p< 0.001), SEC (unadjusted OR, 8.48; 95% CI, 2.57-28.00; p< 0.001) and LAA slow flow velocity (unadjusted OR, 5.18; 95% CI, 1.59-16.91; p=0.005). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that male sex (adjusted OR, 5.30; 95% CI, 1.09-25.71; p=0.039), presence of AF (adjusted OR, 8.97; 95% CI, 1.10-73.20; p=0.041) and SEC (adjusted OR, 10.87; 95% CI, 1.001-118.0; p=0.049) were independently associated with LAT, but LAA slow flow velocity was not. Conclusion: SEC is an important risk factor associated with LAT in patients suspected of embolic brain infarction that is independent of AF