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Activation to Acquisition pp 87–113Cite as

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Input/Output Relations of the Magnocellular Nuclei of the Basal Forebrain

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Abstract

The magnocellular nuclei of the basal forebrain (MNBF) consist of several groups of cholinergic and non-cholinergic cells scattered through the septum, substantia innominata, peripallidum and preoptic region. Although anatomically confusing, this distribution is understandable if it is realized that all of the groups are situated within and along the major fiber pathways of the ventral forebrain. Thus, the nuclei of the diagonal band and the medial septal nucleus are arrayed along the vertical and horizontal limbs of the diagonal band (of Broca), and continue back into the rostral part of the medial forebrain bundle. The nucleus basalis is partially situated along the medial forebrain bundle, but is also related to the ventral amygdalofugal pathway, the ansa lenticularis and (in primates) the medullary laminae of the globus pallidus. As seen with the Golgi method, all these nuclei are made up of multipolar cells with long radiating, spine-free dendrites that extend across the fiber bundles, apparently receiving synaptic inputs from a large number of fibers. Thus, based on their anatomical configuration, cells throughout the MNBF appear to have the capacity to sample and integrate diverse information passing between structures such as the orbito-medial prefrontal cortex, septum, amygdaloid complex, hypothalamus and brainstem. This information may be presumed to shape the functional outputs that the MNBF sends to the cerebral cortex and other telencephalic structures.

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  1. J. L. Price
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  2. K. M. Carnes
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Russell T. Richardson

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Price, J.L., Carnes, K.M. (1991). Input/Output Relations of the Magnocellular Nuclei of the Basal Forebrain. In: Richardson, R.T. (eds) Activation to Acquisition. Birkhäuser, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0556-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-0556-9_4

  • Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Boston, MA

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