Nuclei of the lateral lemniscus project directly to the thalamic auditory nuclei in the pigeon.
Non-mesencephalic origins of ascending afferents to the thalamic auditory nuclei, nuclei ovoidalis (Ov) and semilunaris parovoidalis (SPO), were identified in the pigeon in retrograde tracing experiments. These origins comprise dorsal and ventral lateral lemniscal nuclei. Injections of anterograde tracers into these nuclei produced terminal labelling in SPO in particular. These experiments show for the first time that the inferior colliculus is not an obligatory relay to the auditory thalamus.
D000818:Animals; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010856:Columbidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase; D011149:Pons / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D011392:Proline; D013787:Thalamic Nuclei / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D018998:Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugate; D014909:Wheat Germ Agglutinins
D018998:Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Horseradish Peroxidase Conjugate; D014909:Wheat Germ Agglutinins; D011392:Proline; D006735:Horseradish Peroxidase