Network organization of the connectivity between parietal area 7, posterior cingulate cortex and medial pulvinar nucleus: a double fluorescent tracer study in monkey

Abstract

The topographic distribution of medial pulvinar neuronal populations projecting to area 7a and to posterior cingulate gyrus (area 23) was investigated with retrograde axonal transport of fluorescent dyes. In an initial stage, separate injections of fast blue and diamidino-yellow were placed in area 7a. Two segregated backfilled cell populations were observed in the cingulate gyrus revealing a topographic distribution of cortico-cortical connections. In a second stage, the two dyes were injected in area 7a and in the posterior cingulate gyrus. After injections in two cortical sub-areas previously shown to be in topographic correspondence, the two projecting populations observed in the medial pulvinar overlapped extensively. In the case of injections in two regions not topographically correspondent, the two medial pulvinar populations were found to be segregated. These findings reveal that within both posterior parietal cortex and posterior cingulate gyrus, sub-areas which are in topographic correspondence receive projections from a common region of the medial pulvinar.