title: Reptiles and mammals use similar sensory organizations in the midbrain.
abstract: Striking similarities were observed between the overlapping visual and tactile maps of the mammalian superior colliculus and of its homolog in reptiles, the optic tectum. This topographic pattern probably represents a plan of sensory representation that existed in ancient reptiles and that was retained during the evolution to mammalian forms more than 180 million years ago.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004566:Electrodes; D007076:Iguanas; D008322:Mammals; D012104:Reptiles; D013477:Superior Colliculi / Q000502:physiology*; D014110:Touch; D014785:Vision, Ocular