The intercollicular region in the cat: a possible relay in the parallel somatosensory pathways from the dorsal column nuclei to the posterior complex of the thalamus

Abstract

Neuronal connections of the intercollicular region were studied in the cat by the anterograde and retrograde WGA-HRP and HRP methods. The results indicate that some neurons in the intercollicular region, which comprises the intercollicular nucleus, external and pericentral nuclei of the inferior colliculus, and nucleus of the brachium of the inferior colliculus, receive afferent fibers from the dorsal column nuclei, bilaterally with a contralateral dominance, and send their axons to the lateral division of the posterior complex of the thalamus, bilaterally with an ipsilateral predominance.