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Lack of collateral thalamocortical projections to fields of the first somatic sensory cortex in monkeys

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Summary

Retrograde axoplasmic transport of differently colored fluorescent dyes was used to determine the distributions and relative proportions of cells in the ventrobasal complex of the monkey thalamus that project to each of the architectonic fields of the first somatic sensory cortex.

Fast Blue was injected into portions of area 3a identified by first recording short latency, multiunit responses to electrical stimulation of Group I afferents in a muscle nerve of the forelimb or hindlimb. Nuclear Yellow was later injected into a part of area 2 responding to maximal electrical stimulation of the same nerve. In experiments that served as controls, Fast Blue was injected into area 3b and Nuclear Yellow into area 1.

The results confirm the division of the ventrobasal complex into: (i) a central core with an inner part projecting to area 3b and a surrounding part projecting to area 1; (ii) a peripheral shell projecting to areas 3a and 2 (Jones et al. 1982). A far greater proportion of VB cells projects to areas 3b or 3a than to areas 1 or 2. In portions of the ventrobasal complex projecting to two areas, no cells were double labelled provided that the injections of blue and yellow dyes did not overlap. The results, thus, show a lack of collateral thalamocortical projections to the fields of the postcentral gyrus and, when taken in conjunction with other data, imply the independent relay of modality specific information through the thalamus.

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Abbreviations

CL:

central nucleus

CM:

centre médian nucleus

LP:

lateral posterior nucleus

MG:

medial geniculate complex

mc:

magnocellular medial geniculate nucleus

Pla:

anterior pulvinar nucleus

Po:

posterior complex

SI:

first somatic sensory area

VB:

ventrobasal complex

VLc:

caudal ventral lateral nucleus

VPI:

ventral posterior inferior nucleus

VPLc:

caudal ventral posterior lateral nucleus

VPLo:

oral ventral posterior lateral nucleus

VPM:

ventral posterior medial nucleus

1, 2, 3a, 3b, 4, 5:

fields of cerebral cortex

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. James L. O'Leary Division of Experimental Neurology and Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, 63110, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

    E. G. Jones

  2. McDonnell Center for Studies of Higher Brain Function, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 South Euclid Avenue, 63110, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA

    E. G. Jones

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Supported by grant number NS10526 from the National Institutes of Health, United States Public Health Service

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Jones, E.G. Lack of collateral thalamocortical projections to fields of the first somatic sensory cortex in monkeys. Exp Brain Res 52, 375–384 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238031

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238031

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