Mixed parvocellular and magnocellular geniculate signals in visual area V4

Abstract

VISUAL information from the retina is transmitted to the cerebral cortex by way of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) in the thalamus. In primates, most of the retinal ganglion cells that project to the LGN belong to one of two classes, P and M, whose axons terminate in the parvocellular or magnocellular subdivisions of the LGN. These cell classes give rise to two channels that have been distinguished anatomically, physiologically and behaviourally^1–3,16,17. The visual cortex also can be subdivided into two pathways, one specialized for motion processing and the other for colour and form information⁴. Several lines of indirect evidence have suggested a close correspondence between the subcortical and cortical pathways, such that the M channel provides input to the motion pathway and the P channel drives the colour/form pathway^5–7. This hypothesis was tested directly by selectively inactivating either the magnocellular or parvocellular subdivision of the LGN and recording the effects on visual responses in the cortex. We have previously reported that, in accordance with the hypothesis, responses in the motion pathway in the cortex depend primarily on magnocellular LGN⁸. We now report that in the colour/form pathway, visual responses depend on both P and M input. These results argue against a simple correspondence between the subcortical and cortical pathways.