Abstract

The present investigation was designed to determine the origins in the temporal lobe, and terminations in the pons, of the temporopontine pathway. Injections of tritiated amino acids were placed in multimodal regions in the upper bank of the superior temporal sulcus (STS), and in unimodal visual, somatosensory, and auditory areas in different sectors of the lower bank of the STS, the superior temporal gyrus (STG), and the supratemporal plane (STP). The distribution of terminal label in the nuclei of the basis pontis was studied using the autoradiographic technique. Following injections of isotope into the multimodal areas (TPO and PGa) in the upper bank of the STS, intense aggregations of label were observed in the extreme dorsolateral, dorsolateral, and lateral nuclei of the pons, and modest amounts of label were seen in the peripeduncular nucleus. The caudalmost area TPO projected in addition to the ventral and intrapeduncular pontine nuclei. The second auditory area, AII, and the adjacent auditory association areas of the STG and STP contributed modest projections to the dorsolateral, lateral, and peripedunuclar nuclei, but generally spared the extreme dorsolateral nucleus. The lower bank of the STS, which subserves central vision, the somatosensory associated region at the fundus of the rostral STS, and the primary auditory area did not project to the pons. The higher order, multimodal STS contribution to the corticopontocerebellar circuit may provide a partial anatomical substrate for the hypothesis that the cerebellum contributes to the modulation of nonmotor functions.