Topographic organization of the brainstem afferents to the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus.

The afferent projections from the brainstem to the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MD) were studied in the cat, by means of retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. A topographical arrangement of these projections is described. The medial part of MD is the area of the nucleus which receives fewer afferents from the brainstem. After injections in this part, labeled neurons were observed mainly in the interpeduncular nucleus, the ventral tegmental area and the substantia nigra. After injections of HRP in the intermediate part of the MD, labeled cells were seen mainly in the interpeduncular nucleus, substantia nigra, dorsal and centralis superior raphe nuclei, dorsal tegmental nucleus, and coeruleus complex. Less conspicuous was the number of labeled cells in the central gray and the dorsolateral portion of the tegmentum of the mesencephalon and pons. After injections in the lateral part of MD, labeled neurons were observed mainly in the deep layers of the superior colliculus, central gray, the oral paramedian pontine reticular tegmentum, and the interpeduncular nucleus. Labeled cells were also observed in the substantia nigra, locus coeruleus, dorsal tegmental nucleus, cuneiform area, and the mesencephalic reticular formation. These findings show the MD as a thalamic link of three different groups of brain-stem structures projecting to different cortical areas with different functional significance.