Pupillary responses evoked by electrical stimulation of area pretectalis in cats

Pupillary responses evoked by electrical stimulation of the area pretectalis and neighboring midbrain structures were studied in the cat. The pupillary responses evoked were recorded using an infrared pupilloanalyzing system. Bilateral pupillary constriction was evoked with a low threshold current intensity by stimulation of the nucleus pretectalis medialis, nucleus pretectalis olivaris, rostral part of the nucleus pretectalis posterior, the most rostral part of the periaqueductal grey and the nucleus of posterior commissure. Bilateral pupillary dilation was induced with a low threshold current intensity by stimulating the nucleus pretectalis anterior, caudal periaqueductal grey and the midbrain tegmentum. The effects of changing stimulus intensity and stimulus frequency were also studied.