Visual pathways in elasmobranchs: organization and phylogenetic implications

Although earlier experimental studies of the visual system in elasmobranch fishes suggested that these fishes possess fewer primary retino-recipient nuclei than other gnathostome vertebrates, recent studies utilizing more sensitive tracing methods indicate that most elasmobranch species possess ten primary retinofugal targets in addition to the optic tectum. Furthermore, many species appear to exhibit bilateral retinal projections to these nuclei. Similarly, initial claims that the organization of the visual thalamus of elasmobranchs is more primitive than that of most other gnathostomes--in that elasmobranchs possess only a single thalamic nucleus that receives both retinal and tectal inputs and that only a single thalamo-telencephalic projection exists to the telencephalon--have been refuted. Many, if not all, elasmobranchs possess a rostrally located dorsal thalamic nucleus (anterior thalamic nucleus), that receives retinal and tectal inputs and projects bilaterally to the dorsal and medial pallium, and a more caudally and dorsally located thalamic nucleus, the dorsal posterior thalamic nucleus, that receives bilateral tectal input and projects to the ventrolateral periventricular area and/or dorsal pallium of the telencephalon. Thus the thalamic organization of elasmobranch fishes is similar to that of other gnathostomes.