Correlation and revised nomenclature of ventral nuclei in the thalamus of human and monkey.

The application of histochemical and immunocytochemical methods to the human thalamus, when allied with traditional staining methods, permits a clearer definition of the borders between many nuclei. The findings of electrophysiological and anatomical tracing studies in monkeys can then be correlated with the human material and a nomenclature that is applicable to both monkeys and humans introduced. The ventral nuclei can be divided into four channels relaying pallidal, substantia nigral, cerebellar, and lemniscal information separately to the cerebral cortex. The lemniscal relay is further divided into a proprioceptive component and a cutaneous component, corresponding to Hassler's V.c.e.a. and V.c.e.p nuclei, respectively, and now called VPLa and VPLp.