The projections of cells in different layers of the cat's visual cortex

Abstract

The projection of cells in different layers of several cortical visual areas in the cat were studied using the method of retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. Injections of the enzyme were made through a recording micropipette, making it possible to localize the injection site by physiological criteria. We found that layer VI cells projected to the lateral geniculate nucleus, while a distinct population of cells in layer V projected to the superior colliculus. Cells in layers II and III were the major sources of ipsilateral cortico-cortical connections. This pattern of projection was consistent from one visual area to another. Pyramidal cells appeared to be the source of cortico-geniculate, cortico-collicular and cortico-cortical projections. The proportion of cells within a layer that terminated in a given site varied from layer to layer: apparently all of the large pyramids in layer V had terminals in the superior colliculus, about half of the pyramids in layer VI had terminals in the lateral geniculate nucleus, while only a small proportion of the pyramids in layers II and III had terminals in any single cortical area. The results indicated a remarkable specificity in the projections of the cortical layers. The cortical connections of the different cell types in layers A and A1 of the lateral geniculate nucleus were also examined: the cells that projected to area 17 were much more numerous and were on the average smaller than those that projected to area 18. Projections to the cortex were also found from the pulvinar, the medial interlaminar nucleus and the posterior nucleus. Direct connections were observed to the lateral geniculate nucleus from several midbrain reticular nuclei. Finally, projections were found to the superior colliculus from the zona incerta, the reticular nucleus of the thalamus and the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus.