The distribution of pontine projection cells in visual and association cortex of the cat: An experimental study with horseradish peroxidase

Abstract

The projections from the visual and association areas of the cat's neocortex to the pons were investigated with horseradish peroxidase as retrograde tracer. Small injections were made into the pars basalis of the pons, along its entire rostrocaudal extent. The cortical areas considered were areas 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and the lateral suprasylvian areas (LSA); the posterior (PMSA), and the anterior middle suprasylvian association area (AMSA), the anterior lateral association area (ALA) and the anterior suprasylvian association area (ASA). A pontine projection was found for all the areas investigated; however, areas differ in the relative strength of their projection, in their intraareal distribution of projection cells, and in the location of their projection zones within the pons. A low to moderate density of projection cells is seen in the areas 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and in PMSA. The posterior part of LSA contains only a few projection cells, whereas in more anterior parts of LSA the density of projection cells is moderate to high. A relatively dense distribution of projection cells also appears in AMSA, ALA, and ASA. In those areas which are retinotopically organized (17, 18, 19, LSA) the representation of the center of gaze contains far fewer projection cells than the representation of peripheral vision. In the association areas the distribution of projection cells appears even. The projection zones from areas 17, 18, and 19 overlap with the zones from LSA in the anterior half of the basal pons. The projection zones from areas 20 and 21 and from ALA and ASA are located in the middle third and the projection zones from PMSA and AMSA spread throughout the entire rostrocaudal extent of the basal pons. Our findings indicate that efferent impulses from the visual cortical areas and from the association areas on the middle suprasylvian gyrus are relayed to the cerebellum exclusively via the basal pontine nuclei. The findings further suggest that the visual corticopontine projections carry a map of the visual field in which the cortical magnification factor is reduced.