MICROSCOPY Vol.43▶No.3 2008
â– Researches Today

Organization of Connectivity of the Rat Retrosplenial Cortex

Hideshi Shibata

Abstract: The present article reviews the organization of fiber connections of the rat retrosplenial cortex (RS), which lies in the caudal part of the cingulate cortex located in the medial aspect of the cerebral hemisphere. The RS has reciprocal connections with the frontal, parietal, occipital, and retrohippocampal cortices. Most of these connections are topographically organized such that the rostral RS connects with caudal frontal, parietal, and septal retrohippocampal cortices, whereas the caudal RS connects with rostral frontal, occipital, and temporal retrohippocampal cortices. Furthermore, the RS has intrinsic interconnections between subregions of the RS. The RS also connects with subcortical regions such as the striatum, dorsal and ventral thalamus, superior colliculus, midbrain central gray, and pontine nuclei. These corticocortical and subcortical connections of the RS may constitute part of the neural circuitry that underlies spatial memory and navigational functions of the RS.

Key words: cingulate cortex, corticocortical connections, intrinsic connections, spatial memory