The afferents and projections of the ventroposterolateral thalamus in the monkey

Abstract

In seven monkeys (M. fascicularis), recordings were made from neurones in subnuclei VPLo and VPLc of the thalamus. The peripheral inputs to these cells from the forelimb were established by stimulating muscle, skin and joint nerves, and cutaneous receptive fields were examined by natural stimulation of the skin. The projection of the same cells to motor and sensory cortex was examined by stimulation of the cortex to demonstrate antidromic responses and by retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase injected into these regions of cortex. Of the 139 neurones which were driven by stimulation of peripheral nerves, 73 were located in VPLo. This suggests that there is a significant proje..