Thalamic Inputs to Posterior Parietal Cortical Areas Involved in Skilled Forelimb Movement and Tool Use in the Capuchin Monkey.

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is a central hub for the primate forebrain networks that control skilled manual behavior, including tool use. Here, we quantified and compared the sources of thalamic input to electrophysiologically-identified hand/forearm-related regions of several PPC areas, namely areas 5v, AIP, PFG, and PF, of the capuchin monkey (Sapajus sp). We found that these areas receive most of their thalamic connections from the Anterior Pulvinar (PuA), Lateral Posterior (LP) and Medial Pulvinar (PuM) nuclei.