Spinothalamic tract neurons that project to medial and/or lateral thalamic nuclei: evidence for a physiologically novel population of spinal cord neurons

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Abstract
On the basis of the thalamic area to which they project as determined with the antidromic activation technique, lumbosacral spinothalamic neurons in anesthetized monkeys [Macaca fascicularis] were classified as medial (M-STT), lateral (L-STT), or lateral-medial (LM-STT) spinothalamic tract cells. M-STT cells projected only to the medial thalamus (central lateral nucleus or adjacent parts of the medial dorsal nucleus), L-STT cells projected only to the lateral thalamus (ventral posterior lateral nucleus) and LM-STT cells projected to both lateral and medial thalamic nuclei. Response characteristics and electrophysiology are discussed. Large excitatory receptive fields of M-STT cells may depend on a neural pathway involving ascending tracts that activate neurons of the reticular formation.