Pathway Tracing Experiments

A major goal of our laboratory is to map out brain pathways in order to understand how information is processed in the brain. We use many different techniques to do this including enzyme tracers, tracers which can be detected immunohistochemically and mapping of neurotransmitter-specific neurons and fibers. Some of the main results for the budgerigar are shown in the figure below. The diagram on the left side of the figure outlines the principal connections between the vocal nuclei based on Durand et al (1997). A list of abbreviations is provided for this figure. You can click on each of the structures in order to learn more about them.



MO NAOM NLC AAC MStm DMm 		KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS:

AAC = central nucleus of the anterior arcopallium 
AACd = dorsal subdivision of AAc 
AACv = ventral subdivision of AAc 
DMm = magnocellular nucleus of the dorsomedial thalamus 
MO = oval nucleus of the mesopallium 
MStm = magnocellular nucleus of the medial striatum 
NAOm = medial part of the oval nucleus of the anterior nidopallium 
NLC = central nucleus of the lateral nidopallium 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 [click on the block diagram for information about each nucleus]