The prefrontal cortex: Projection area of the thalamic mediodorsal nucleus?

Abstract

The historical bases of the definitions of the prefrontal cortex are reviewed (cytoarchitecture, electrical unexcitability, afferents from the mediodorsal thalamic nucleus). Evidence is presented that the widely accepted proposal of Rose and Woolsey (1948) to name all cortex prefrontal that is reached by afferents from the mediodorsal nucleus is questionable for three reasons: the diversity of cortical fields reached by the mediodorsal nucleus, the overlapping of thalamic projections, and the possibility of a column- or band-like thalamocortical organization. An alternative approach to a definition of the prefrontal cortex is suggested. © 1979, Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.