Marginal division of the neostriatum: a subcortical memory center.

The marginal division (MrD) is a pan-shaped subdivision in the caudal margin of the neostriatum newly discovered in the brains of the rat, cat, monkey and humans. A variety of intensely expressed neuropeptides and monoamines and their receptors were identified in the fibers, terminals and neuronal somata in the MrD with immunohistochemical and patch clamp methods. The MrD was shown to be involved in learning and memory by double-blind studies of Y-maze learning and long-term potentiation in rats. c-Fos expression and tract-tracing techniques with immunoelectronmicroscopy indicated that the MrD is a new component of the limbic system and is a key linking area between the limbic system and the basal nucleus of Meynert. Functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) studies illustrated that the MrD and the prefrontal cortex are involved in digital working memory in the human brain. A cerebral hemorrhage case report confirmed the findings with fMRI. In conclusion, based on the position of the MrD, its advanced development in higher mammalian brains, abundant blood supply and diverse connections with other memory-related structures, MrD is likely to be an important subcortical center of learning and memory. Copyright 2003 National Science Council, ROC and S. Karger AG, Basel