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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01sj139205g
Title: Mapping the anterior-posterior extent of the rat posterior parietal cortex and its shared inputs with the frontal orienting fields
Authors: Tang, Mengxuan Jo
Advisors: Brody, Carlos
Department: Molecular Biology
Class Year: 2013
Abstract: In mammals, the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is part of an elaborate neural network crucial for directed spatial attention, learning, and decision-making. In rats, investigation of the PPC’s role in these neural mechanisms is complicated by inconsistencies in its location in the cortex. To address this issue, we injected Alexa Fluor-conjugated cholera toxin subunit B (CTB), an anterograde and retrograde axonal tracer, into regions within and around the PPC along the anterior-posterior axis. Using anatomical definitions based on thalamic connectivity, we have preliminarily mapped out the A-P extent of the PPC to between -3.5mm and -4.5mm relative to bregma, considerably more posterior than currently accepted values. Using these updated estimations of the PPC's location, we found candidates for the site of evidence accumulation in decision making within neural network underlying directed spatial attention and decision-making, believed to project to both the PPC and the frontal orienting fields (FOF). Regions containing significant afferent connectivity to both FOF and PPC were flagged and analyzed for viability as targets of future investigation.
Extent: 56 pages
URI: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01sj139205g
Access Restrictions: Walk-in Access. This thesis can only be viewed on computer terminals at the Mudd Manuscript Library.
Type of Material: Princeton University Senior Theses
Language: en_US
Appears in Collections:Molecular Biology, 1954-2023

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