The projections of the rat temporal cortex to the amygdala and cerebral cortex were studied using the sensitive anterograde tracer,Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin. These studies revealed that the core of temporal area 1 had no projections to the amygdala but did send efferents to several cortical fields that projected to the amygdala, including temporal area 2, temporal area 3, the lateral occipital area 2, and a cortical zone along the dorsal, rostral and caudal borders of temporal area 1 (“Tel fringe”). The temporal area 1 fringe cortex had light projections to the amygdala that were confined to the dorsolateral subdivision of the lateral amygdaloid nucleus. Temporal area 2 and the caudal portion of temporal area 3 had projections to both the dorsolateral and ventromedial subdivisions of the lateral nucleus; the projection from temporal area 2 targeted mainly the ventromedial subdivision, whereas the projection from the caudal portion of temporal area 3 terminated primarily in the dorsolateral subdivision. The rostral portion of temporal area 3 had projections to both subdivisions of the lateral nucleus and to the basal magnocellular nucleus. Temporal areas 2 and 3 also had light projections to the lateral capsular subdivision of the central amygdaloid nucleus. Temporal cortical areas exhibited extensive reciprocal connections with each other. Temporal areas with amygdaloid projections also had extensive projections to the perirhinal cortex.

The results of the present investigation, in conjunction with other studies of temporal cortical connections, suggest that all temporal regions projecting to the amygdala are multimodal sensory areas. The core of temporal area 1, which is probably the primary auditory area, apparently has no direct projections to the amygdala. The differential projections of different temporal areas to the amygdala suggests the existence of several distinct multimodal pathways arranged in a parallel configuration.