The claustrum is a telencephalic grey matter nucleus of unclear structure and function, although it has been recently proposed to be a generator of conscious percepts. Our studies redefine the structural boundaries and connections of the claustrum in the rat, as well as provide evidence for an equivalent redefinition of claustral anatomy in all therian mammal brains, including human. An analysis of cortical representations in the claustrum are also presented and the findings are considered in a functional context. Finally, G protein gamma-2 is identified as a novel and discrete neuroanatomical marker of the claustrum whose expression pattern is in register with the our anatomical definitions. The results of this work alter long-held tenets of claustral anatomy and allow for an assessment of claustral function through molecular lesioning techniques targeting G protein gamma-2.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VANDERBILT/oai:VANDERBILTETD:etd-05122008-115234 |
| Date | 20 May 2008 |
| Creators | Mathur, Brian N. |
| Contributors | Richard M. Caprioli, Ariel Y. Deutch, Ford F. Ebner, Elaine Sanders-Bush |
| Publisher | VANDERBILT |
| Source Sets | Vanderbilt University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-05122008-115234/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to Vanderbilt University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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