Autoradiographic demonstration of the projections from the mesencephalic locomotor region.

An autoradiographic tracing technique was used to examine the projections of the classically defined mesencephalic locomotor region (MRL). Injections of [3H]proline and [3H]leucine were made into sites in the caudal mesencephalon which can be stimulated to produce locomotion. The injection sites were confined to the cuneiform nucleus (stereotaxic coordinates P2.0, L4.0, H-1.0). Descending projections were primarily ipsilateral to the gigantocellular and magnocellular reticular formation of the pons and medulla, the dorsal tegmental reticular nucleus, and the nucleus raphe magnus. Some sparse contralateral projections were also observed within the magnocellular and gigantocellular reticular formation. Direct axonal connections with the spinal cord were not consistently observed. Ascending projections were observed to the subthalamic nucleus, caudal hypothalamic nuclei, the centrum medianum nucleus of the thalamus, the ventral tegmental area of Tsai, the superior colliculus, and the periaqueductal gray region. The ascending projections were also ipsilateral, with sparse contralateral labeling confined to areas which received ipsilateral projections. Projections to the contralateral cuneiform nucleus were also consistently observed. The results, when compared to those of another study, suggest that the classical MLR is anatomically distinct from the more medial sites in the mesencephalon which can also induce locomotion.