Distribution of calretinin immunopositive somata and fibers in the rabbit midcingulate cortex

The midcingulate cortex (MCC; area 24’) resides in the mid-rostrocaudal part of the cingulate gyrus, and it plays important roles in nociceptive, cognitive and skeletomotor functions. The MCC has recently been shown to consist of four cortical areas (areas a24a’, a24b’, p24a’ and p24b’) in the rabbit, based on immunohistochemistry. To further characterize the organization of these areas, here we immunohistochemically identified structures immunopositive (+) for calretinin (CR) as a marker of a subpopulation of inhibitory neurons. CR+ somata were identified as multipolar and bipolar neurons. The multipolar neurons were predominant throughout the MCC. CR+ somata were present mainly in layer (L) 2/3 and L6, and CR+ fibers occurred mainly in L1, L2/3 and L6. However, there were differences in the distribution of CR+ structures in each area. CR+ somata tended to be most densely distributed in area a24a’, followed by area p24a’, area a24b’ and area p24b’. CR+ fibers were most densely distributed in area p24a’, followed by area p24b’, area a24a’ and area a24b’. In addition, only areas p24a’ and p24b’ enclosed patchy CR+ fibers and terminals in deep L2/3. These results show the distinct distribution of CR+ structures in each area of the MCC in the rabbit, suggesting that CR+ neurons may contribute to information processing for cognitive functions in somewhat different manners in each area of the MCC.