The evidence that amnesia in humans is caused by lesions of the medial temporal lobes is very strong, but there is considerably less evidence that basal forebrain lesions can also cause amnesia. Although there is a large body of animal data indicating that basal forebrain structures play a part in memory, the human evidence is limited to a few case studies. One feature of the patients reported ...

The septohippocampal pathway contains cholinergic, GABAergic, and glutamatergic projections and has an established role in learning, memory, and hippocampal theta rhythm. Both GABAergic and cholinergic neurons in the medial septum-diagonal band of Broca (MSDB) have been associated with spatial memory, but the relationship between the two neuronal populations is not fully understood. The present...

Diffusion tensor imaging has been highlighted as a non-invasive tool to explore neural connectivity in vivo. Several studies have suggested disorganization of the neural network (circuitry) including the thalamo-prefrontal connection in schizophrenia. Recent research using post-mortem brains showed that the superior occipitofrontal fasciculus (SOFF) fibers extended to the thalamus. We postulate...

The medial habenula (MHb) is a key bridge between limbic forebrain and midbrain monoaminergic centers. Although its exact behavioral function remains enigmatic, it is implicated in regulating many behaviors such as stress responses and circadian rhythm. Fundamental information such as the neurotransmitters in the afferent and efferent projections of the MHb remains unclear. By combining retrogr...

Using [14C]-2-deoxyglucose autoradiography, we determined which forebrain and diencephalic areas showed metabolic alterations in response to unilateral electrical stimulation of the posterior medial forebrain bundle at parameters chosen to produce a just-submaximal rewarding effect. At these parameters, only a few areas were activated. There was no detectable activation anterior or dorsal to th...

The central adrenergic neurons have been suggested to play a role in the regulation of arousal and in the neuronal control of the cardiovascular system. To provide morphological evidence that these functions could be mediated via the basal forebrain, we performed correlated light and electron microscopic double-immunolabeling experiments using antibodies against phenylethanolamine N-methyltrans...