Thalamic projections to S-I in macaque monkey.

The organization of thalamic input to functionally characterized zones in primary somatosensory cerebral cortex (S-I) of macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta) was investigated using the method of labelling by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). It was found that the cell columns positioned at the posterior margin of the band of cortex representing a given body region receive thalamic input from a posterior level of the ventroposterior thalamic nucleus (VP), and that cell columns at successively more anterior positions within that band receive input from successively more anterior levels of VP. The extreme posterior and anterior margins of the S-I hand, foot and face areas receive input from neuron populations which are not as widely separated in the anteroposterior dimension of VP as the neurons projecting to the extreme anterior and posterior margins of the proximal limb and trunk representations in S-I. These characteristics of the organization of the projections from VP to S-I are consistent with the view that the body representations in VP and S-I have the same connectivity and differential submodality distribution; and with the idea that thalamocortical conncetions only exist between functionally equivalent neuron populations in VP and S-I.

Representation of head and face in postcentral gyrus of the macaque.

The receptive field and submodality characteristics of individual neurons within the cytoarchitectural and topographic subdivisions of the head and face areas of the postcentral gyrus (SI) were determined with the technique of extracellular recording. Correlation of the single-unit data with the intracortical location of the recording electrode provided a detailed description of the functional organization within each of the several cytoarchitecturally distinct regions contributing to the representation of the head and face in SI. The data indicate that the functional organization of the SI cortex which receives its principal input from trigeminal mechanoreceptors is comparable to the organization within those SI regions which receive their input from the mechanoreceptors of the limbs, trunk, and tail. In each topographic subdivision of the SI cortex 1) a single region in the periphery is represented several times in widely separated locations, each time in a context of different submodalities and peripheral receptive fields; and 2) neurons belonging to the different submodality classes are segregated so that projections from cutaneous afferents terminate mainly in cytoarchitectural area 3 in the adjacent anterior portion of area 1, while projections from the afferents innervating deep tissues terminate mainly in cytoarchitectural area 3a, area 2, and the posterior part of each 1. Although the mechanoreceptor input to SI is segregated according to submodality and the mechanoreceptors from most body regions project to multiple widely separated regions within SI, neurons with receptive fields confined to the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal peripheral innervation field are found within a restricted region of the anterior postcentral gyral crown which is positioned symmetrically about the junction of cytoarchitectural areas 1 and 3. Neurons with receptive fields confined to the maxillary division of the trigeminal innervation field are found within a ring of cortex which a) completely surrounds the representation of the ophthalmic field, and b) includes parts of cytoarchitectural area 2, 1, 3, and 3a. SI neurons with receptive fields restricted to the mandibular division of the trigeminal innervation field occupy the largest portion of the SI face area and form a ring of cortical cell columns which completely surrounds that cortical region which receives its input from the maxillary peripheral innervation field.

The neural signal of angular head position in primary afferent vestibular nerve axons.

1. The relation between discharge frequency and angular head position was determined for a population of regularly discharging single first-order vestibular neurones in the eighth nerve of the barbiturate anaesthetized cat.2. Each axon had a characteristic head position which was maximally excitatory to it, and a diametrically opposed head position which was minimally excitatory.3. After correction for phase shifts introduced by the orientation of preferred excitability, discharge rate in statoreceptor afferents varied as a power function of the sine of angular head position with exponents ranging from 0.9 to 1.6.4. Experimentally determined discharge rates were compared with the predictions of a computer simulation model incorporating the idea that shearing force acting on morphologically polarized receptors is the adequate stimulus for macular receptor cells.5. This approach permitted the identification of a population of first-order vestibular afferents whose discharge frequency varied with head position as did the magnitude of shear force computed for individual receptors, each most excited in a particular head position.6. The majority of the spatial orientations of maximal sensitivity defined a surface which is tilted by approximately 30 degrees with reference to the Horsley-Clarke horizontal plane, implying that most statoreceptor afferents are maximally sensitive to position changes when the cat's head is at or near its normal position.