The thalamic connections with medial area 6 (supplementary motor cortex) in the monkey (macaca fascicularis)

The interrelationship of medial area 6 (supplementary motor area) with the thalamus was investigated by means of anterograde and retrograde tracing methods. Nine monkeys were prepared for autoradiography or histochemistry with the marker HRP conjugated to the lectin wheat germ agglutinin. Three of the monkeys received injections into the precentral cortex for comparison. Previous observations were confirmed that the thalamic relays to the motor areas are organized as crescent-shaped lamellae which transgress cytoarchitectonic boundaries. The thalamic VA-VL complex receiving fibres from areas 4 and medial area 6 also sends fibres to these same areas. The thalamic relay to medial area 6 comprised the following subdivisions: VLo, VLc, area X of Olszewski, VLm and, to a smaller extent VA. Labeling (mostly anterograde only) was also prominent in some thalamic compartments outside the 'motor' thalamus: R, CL, CM-Pf, MD, LP, PULo. It was noted that rostral and caudal injections into the medial area 6 resulted in different thalamic labeling: The rostral portion was found to be related mainly with VApc, area X and VLc, the central portion with VLo, and the caudal portion with VLc/VLo. This structural inhomogeneity may reflect also a functional rostro-caudal differentiation of the medial area 6. The thalamic territory projecting to the precentral cortex is separate from the above relay and includes principally VPLo. The present anatomical labeling study is in agreement with the conclusion of Schell and Strick (1984) that the SMA, especially its central portion, is an important target of basal ganglia outflow via the thalamic relay VLo. In addition consistent labeling was also found in thalamic subdivisions (area X, VLc) which had been found to receive cerebellar fibres.