Association and commissural fiber systems of the olfactory cortex of the rat II. Systems originating in the olfactory peduncle
Authors: Haberly Lewis B. , Price Joseph L. 
Published: January 2005

The structure and connections of areas within the olfactory peduncle (anterior olfactory nucleus and tenia tecta) have been examined. The anterior olfactory nucleus has been divided into external, lateral, dorsal, medial, and ventro‐posterior parts. In spite of the term nucleus which is applied to these areas, all of them contain pyramidal‐type cells with apical and basal dendrites oriented normal to the surface, and are essentially cortical in organization. Experiments utilizing retrograde and anterograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) have demonstrated that each of these parts of the anterior olfactory nucleus possesses a unique pattern of afferent and efferent connections with other olfactory areas. All subdivisions have projections to both the ipsilateral and contralateral sides, although the ipsilateral projection of the pars externa (to the olfactory bulb) is extremely light. Interestingly, crossed projections are in each case directed predominantly to areas adjacent to the homotopic areas.

Two primary subdivisions may also be distinguished in the tenia tecta: a dorsal part composed largely of tightly packed neurons which closely resemble the granule cells of the dentate gyrus (bushy apical but no basal dendrites) and a ventral part which contains predominantly pyramidal‐type cells. The connections of these two parts are also very different. The ventral tenia tecta receives substantial projections from the olfactory bulb, pars lateralis of the anterior olfactory nucleus, piriform cortex and lateral entorhinal area. It gives off a heavy return projection to the pars lateralis and lighter projections to the olfactory bulb, piriform cortex and olfactory tubercle. The dorsal tenia tecta receives a heavy projection from the piriform cortex, but none from the olfactory bulb. A few cells in the dorsal tenia tecta are retrogradely labeled from HRP injections into the medial aspect of the olfactory peduncle (involving the ventral tenia tecta and adjacent areas), but none are labeled from the other olfactory areas that have been injected.

An area on the dorsal aspect of the olfactory peduncle that differs significantly from the anterior olfactory nucleus, tenia tecta and piriform cortex in terms of its connections and cytoarchitecture has been termed the dorsal peduncular cortex. The most striking feature of this area is its very heavy reciprocal connection with the entorhinal cortex, although it is also reciprocally connected with the olfactory bulb and piriform cortex and projects to the olfactory tubercle.

Cells in layer I of the medial and ventral aspects of the olfactory peduncle have been retrogradely labeled from HRP injections into the olfactory tubercle and lateral hypothalamic area. These cells overlie the ventral tenia tecta, medial part of the anterior piriform cortex and pars ventro‐posterior and pars lateralis of the anterior olfactory nucleus, but do not appear to be distributed in relation to the cytoarchitectonic boundaries.

Possible functional roles of the areas within the olfactory peduncle have been discussed.