["Functional and anatomical organization of associative" cortical areas 7, 21 and 22 in monkeys. A study of the cortical projections from the pulvinar by means of HRP tracing technique (author's transl)].

The thalamic projections to the parietal and temporal associative areas (Brodmann's areas 7, 21 and 22) have been revealed by means of the retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The medial pulvinar (PM) was found to send afferents to the three studied areas. Labelled neurones of the PM appeared to be grouped in terms of their cortical target; indeed, neurones of origin of projection fibres to areas 7, 21 and 22 were respectively localized in the dorso-lateral, ventro-lateral and ventro-medial part of the PM. Although the multimodal sensory nature of the PM has been demonstrated by electrophysiological works, the function of PM neurones and the significance of their topographical repartition remain unknown. However PM could be involved in the transmission of specific sensory informations to the three associative areas 7, 21 and 22. Such an hypothesis is discussed according to the hitherto available data.