The connections of cortical somatosensory areas I and II with separate nuclei in the ventroposterior thalamus in the raccoon

Abstract

The thalamocortical afferents to cortical somatosensory areas I (SI) and II (SII) were investigated in the raccoon using the horseradish peroxidase technique. The purpose of this study was to determine if the cell bodies of origin for thalamocortical afferents to these cortical regions were localized in the same or different nuclei in the ventroposterior region of the thalamus. Horseradish peroxidase was injected into subdivisions of SI or SII and after post-injection survival periods of 12–72 hours the horseradish peroxidase in the tissue was reacted with the chromogens dihydrochlorobenzidine or tetramethylbenzidine in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The results show that SI and SII receive projections from neurons in separate and distinct nuclei in the ventroposterior thalamus. Following injections into subdivisions of area I, a topographical distribution of retrogradely-labelled cell bodies was observed in the ventrobasal complex. Following injections of horseradish peroxidase into subdivisions of area II, a topographical distribution of labelled cell bodies was observed in the ventroposterior inferior nucleus. No labelled cell bodies were observed in the ventrobasal complex. The thalamocortical connections of somatosensory cortices I and II in raccoon are compared with those in other animals and it is suggested that these two cortical areas may be involved in differential processing of tactile information.