Sham and excitotoxic lesions of the amygdala.A, Sham lesions of the amygdala. ACE, Central nucleus of the amygdala; AStr, amygdalostriatal transition zone; BL, basolateral nucleus of the amygdala;BM, basomedial nucleus of the amygdala; CP, caudatoputamen; DEn, dorsal endopiriform nucleus;ec, external capsule; La, lateral nucleus of the amygdala; Pir, piriform cortex; Pr Cx, perirhinal cortex; VEn, ventral endopiriform nucleus. B, Excitotoxic lesions of the amygdala. RF, Rhinal fissure;ec, external capsule. Note heavy gliosis and neuronal dropout in the lateral, basolateral, and central nuclei of the amygdala. Double black arrows and single shaded arrow indicate gliosis and neuronal dropout in dorsal and ventral endopiriform nuclear regions, respectively. Single black arrow points to neuronal dropout in the ventral basolateral and basomedial nuclei of the amygdala. Single open arrow points to heavy gliosis and neuronal dropout in the central nucleus of the amygdala. Photomicrographs at 4.5× after formalin fix and cresyl violet stain. Scale bars are as noted in photomicrographs.