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Abstract

The preglomerular nucleus of teleost fishes, believed to be a lateral part of the posterior tuberculum in the diencephalon, receives input from several sensory areas. By employing an in vitro technique, the pattern of connectivity between this cell group and the telencephalon has been explored through retrograde and anterograde tracing in the gymnotiform fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus. Neurons of the preglomerular nucleus project to the following telencephalic areas: central division of dorsal forebrain, dorsal subdivision of dorsolateral telencephalon, posterior subdivision of dorsolateral telencephalon, dorsal posterior telencephalon, and probably, also subdivision 2 of dorsomedial telencephalon. Experiments in which tracer application was restricted to the lateral subdivision of the preglomerular nucleus, or in which tracer substance was placed into various regions of the telencephalon revealed a differential projection pattern of cells in the lateral and the medial subdivision of the preglomerular nucleus. Neurons in the central division of the dorsal forebrain, the dorsal posterior telencephalon, and likely, also in the subdivision 2 of the dorsomedial telencephalon and the ventricular zone of the intermediate subdivision of the ventral telencephalon project back to the preglomerular nucleus. Thus, a major function of the preglomerular nucleus appears to be to act as a relay station for conveying information between diencephalon and telencephalon.