An autoradiographical study of the projections from the feline sensorimotor cortex to the brain stem.

Following an autoradiographical study on the projections from the feline sensorimotor cortex (representation of the limbs) to the brain stem, new projections to nucleus pretectalis posterior, the coerulear nuclei, nuclei corporis pontobulbares, nucleus intertrigeminalis, nucleus f, x and z of the vestibular nuclear complex, nucleus parvocellularis compactus, nucleus parasolitarius, nuclei insulae cuneati laterales, the nuclei of the raphé, nucleus reticularis lateralis and nucleus fastigii were found besides the well known projections to the tectal nuclei, the reticular formation, nucleus ruber, griseum pontis, the sensory trigeminal nuclei and the dorsal column nuclei. There was no evidence of projections to nucleus tractus solitarii. The amounts of radioactivity within the nuclei seem to be in favour of EM autoradiographical studies on the synaptology of these projections, apart from faintly labelled structures like most of the reticular nuclei, the sensory trigeminal nuclei, the coerulear nuclei and nucleus fastigii.