Thalamic projections of the fusiform gyrus in man

Previous retrograde degeneration studies have shown that human extrastriate visual cortex receives projections from the pulvinar, but their precise topographical organization remained unknown. We report on the distribution of thalamic projections originating in the fusiform gyrus, as studied with th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The European journal of neuroscience 1999-05, Vol.11 (5), p.1835-1838
Main Authors: Clarke, Stephanie, Riahi-Arya, Sahba, Tardif, Eric, Eskenasy, Anne-Claude Cottier, Probst, Alphonse
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Axons - physiology
extrastriate cortex
Geniculate Bodies - cytology
human
Humans
Male
Nerve Degeneration
Neurons, Afferent - cytology
pulvinar
reticular nucleus
Stains & staining
Temporal Lobe - cytology
visual areas
Visual Pathways
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Summary:Previous retrograde degeneration studies have shown that human extrastriate visual cortex receives projections from the pulvinar, but their precise topographical organization remained unknown. We report on the distribution of thalamic projections originating in the fusiform gyrus, as studied with the Nauta method for anterogradely degenerating axons, in a case of right fusiform gyrus infarction. Ipsilaterally to the lesion, high density of afferents was found in the inferior pulvinar nucleus and a low density in the medial pulvinar nucleus as well as in the postero‐inferior part of the reticular nucleus; no degenerating fibres were found in the lateral geniculate body. Degenerating axons were completely absent in the contralateral thalamus. Thus, there is a precise topographic relationship between parts of the extrastriate cortex and the pulvinar, suggesting segregated thalamocortical pathways for different parts of the extrastriate cortex. As in nonhuman primates, the human inferior temporal cortex has no direct output to the lateral geniculate body.
ISSN:0953-816X
1460-9568
DOI:10.1046/j.1460-9568.1999.00586.x