title: Corticocortical and thalamocortical information flow in the primate visual system.
abstract: Visual cortex in primates contains a mosaic of several dozen visual areas that collectively occupy a large fraction of cerebral cortex (approximately 50% in the macaque; approximately 25% in humans). These areas are richly interconnected by hundreds of reciprocal corticocortical pathways that underlie an anatomically based hierarchy containing multiple processing streams. In addition, there is a complex pattern of reciprocal connections with the pulvinar, which itself contains about 10 architectonically distinct subdivisions. Information flow through these corticocortical and corticothalamic circuits is regulated very dynamically by top-down as well as bottom-up processes, including directed visual attention. This chapter evaluates current hypotheses and evidence relating to the interaction between thalamocortical and corticocortical circuitry in the dynamic regulation of information flow.
authors.affiliation: Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA. vanessen@brainvis.wustl.edu
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Van Essen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D011323:Primates / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D020649:Pulvinar / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D013788:Thalamus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology