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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 8, 2026

Calcium Imaging in Mouse Superior Colliculus

Calcium Imaging in Mouse Superior Colliculus

Published on: April 21, 2023

Visual activity in primate superior colliculus requires geniculostriate input.

Leor N Katz¹, Gongchen Yu¹, Richard J Krauzlis¹

¹Laboratory of Sensorimotor Research, National Eye Institute; Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, USA.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology

|May 7, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Visually evoked spiking in the primate superior colliculus (SC) relies on retinal signals processed through the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and primary visual cortex (V1), not direct retinal input alone.

Keywords:

Superior colliculus geniculostriate nonhuman primate retinotectal visual pathways visual processing

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High-resolution Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Methods for Human Midbrain

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Published on: May 10, 2012

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Visual System Research
Primate Brain Studies

Background:

The superior colliculus (SC) is a key visual processing center.
Primate SC receives visual input from both the retina and the primary visual cortex (V1) via the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN).
The dominant pathway driving SC visual responses remains debated.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether visually evoked spiking in the primate SC depends on the geniculostriate pathway (LGN-V1) or direct retinal input.
To clarify the functional role of direct retinotectal versus indirect geniculostriate visual input to the SC.

Main Methods:

Recorded neural activity in macaque SC neurons.
Performed reversible inactivation of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN).
Conducted primary visual cortex (V1) inactivation experiments and analyzed interhemispheric inhibition (Sprague effect).

Main Results:

LGN inactivation significantly reduced visually evoked spiking in the SC across all layers, sparing saccade-related activity.
Direct retinal input, even with magnocellular-biased stimuli, did not evoke spiking during LGN inactivation.
V1 inactivation also diminished SC visual responses, correlating with the extent of the induced visual field defect.

Conclusions:

Visually evoked neural responses in the primate SC critically depend on retinal information processed through the LGN and V1.
Direct retinotectal input alone is insufficient to drive SC spiking when geniculostriate input is absent.
These findings necessitate revisions to existing models of visual processing in the primate SC and related behaviors.