Additional forebrain regions projecting to the posterior pituitary: preoptic region, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and zona incerta

Abstract

Following the injections of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) into the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland of adult albino rats, scattered retrogradely labeled neurons were observed in the caudal part of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (ventrally and laterally), in the median and periventricular preoptic nuclei, in the medial and lateral preoptic areas, in the zona incerta, and in the substantia innominata. Immunohistochemical studies indicate that oxytocin-containing, or a mixture of vasopressin- and oxytocin-containing neurons are present in each of these areas. These findings suggest that the cells of the magnocellular neurosecretory system are more widely distributed than has previously been reported.