Photic Sensitivity of Macaque Monkey and Pulvinar Neurons

Abstract

The pulvinar complex of the primate brain, by sheer mass alone, is the major nucleus of the thalamus having visual input. The evolution of the pulvinar appears to culminate in primates where the nucleus is largest and becomes most differentiated. The following figures will serve to illustrate the relative size and location of the divisions of the primate pulvinar. Figure 1 illustrates the locus of the three divisions of the pulvinar complex at the level of the caudal pole of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) while Fig. 2 outlines the major divisions of the pulvinar at their largest extent in the posterior thalamus. Clearly these nuclear groups make up the bulk of the thalamus at this level.