Anatomical Tracing of the Efferent and Afferent Projections of the Red Nuclues

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dc.contributor.authorNgan, Sara
dc.contributor.authorSharma, Sandeep
dc.contributor.authorWhelan, Patrick J.
dc.date.accessioned2018-10-10T14:45:09Z
dc.date.available2018-10-10T14:45:09Z
dc.date.issued2018-09-24
dc.description.abstractMotor behaviors are essential for survival, such as walking, foraging for food or escaping predators. Still, little is known about the specific descending pathways to the spinal cord that control complex motor movements. From the brain, there are four main pathways that descend directly to the spinal cord which contribute to the wide array of movements used in our daily lives. One of these pathways is the rubrospinal tract, which originates at the red nucleus in the midbrain. Previous experiments revealed that the red nucleus is important in the fine motor control, response rate and smoothening of limb movements. Despite the importance of the rubrospinal tract and the red nucleus, this pathway has not been studied extensively in mice. This project aims to determine the afferent and efferent connectivity of the red nucleus. This was achieved using viral tracing techniques. The retrograde tracer cholera toxin B (CTB) and the anterograde tracer biotin dextran amine (BDA) were injected into the red nucleus and their resulting expression throughout the brain was identified. Based on preliminary data, the major areas that project to the red nucleus are the primary and secondary motor cortices, the preoptic area, the posterior lateral hypothalamus, zona incerta, periaqueductal grey and the gigantoreticular nucleus. The results of this study provide the fundamentals for future studies of the rubrospinal tract. Moving forward, the cell types and role of these identified pathways can be studied to further build on our understanding of motor pathways.en_US
dc.identifier.citationNgan, S., Sharma, S., & Whelan, P. J. (2018). Anatomical Tracing of the Efferent and Afferent Projections of the Red Nuclues (Rep.). Calgary, AB: University of Calgary.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/33176
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/108836
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Calgaryen_US
dc.publisher.departmentUndergraduate Science Centreen_US
dc.publisher.facultyScienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen_US
dc.rightsUnless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0en_US
dc.subjectRed nucleusen_US
dc.subjectprojectionsen_US
dc.subjectretrograde tracingen_US
dc.subjectanterograde tracingen_US
dc.subjectrubrospinal tracten_US
dc.titleAnatomical Tracing of the Efferent and Afferent Projections of the Red Nucluesen_US
dc.title.alternativePure Award Report 2018en_US
dc.typereporten_US
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