Journal of neurophysiology
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1. Recordings were made from the caudal part of the ventral posterior lateral (VPLc) nucleus of the thalamus in anesthetized macaque monkeys. In additon to many neurons that responded only to weak mechanical stimuli, scattered neurons were found that responded to both innocuous and noxious stimulation or just to noxious stimulation of the skin. ⋯ We conclude that some neurons in the VPLc nucleus are capable of signaling noiceptive stimuli. The nociceptive information appears to reach these cells through the ventral part of the lateral funiculus on the side contralateral to the receptive field, presumably by way of the spinothalamic tract. The VPLc cells are somatotopically organized, and they are thalamocortical neurons that project to the VPLc nucleus and SI cortex play a role in nociception.