pulvinar - BrainInfo

pulvinar (PUL)

The term pulvinar (PUL) refers to a topologically and histologically defined, predominantly gray matter, subdivision of the lateral thalamic nuclei (LTN) in the human ( Carpenter-1983 ) and macaque ( Paxinos-2009a ). It is composed of four nuclei: the anterior pulvinar nucleus, lateral pulvinar nucleus, medial pulvinar nucleus and inferior pulvinar nucleus ( Nomina-1983 ). It is not found in brain atlases of the rat ( Swanson-2004 ) or mouse ( AMBA-2024 ). ( Cherkovich-1969a ) Functionally, the PUL is an external stimulus feature detector of the instinctive control system of primates ( Bowden-2021 ). Final 23 Mar 2025.

Also known as: pulvinar, Pulvinar, Nuclei pulvinares, Pulvinar thalami, pulvinar nucleus, Nucleus pulvinaris thalami, Nucleus pulvinaris, posterior nucleus (P), pulvinar thalamus, pulvinar nuclei

NeuroNames ID: 328

All Names & Sources

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Showing 28 synonym(s)

English

posterior nucleus (P)

Noback-1975

English

pulvinar

Carpenter-1983

English

pulvinar

Martin-1997

English

Pulvinar

Szabo-1984

English

pulvinar nuclei

Paxinos-2009a

English

pulvinar nucleus

Carpenter-1983

English

pulvinar thalamus

Wikipedia-2024a

Illustrations

Showing 4 illustration(s)

drawing of
lateral aspect in
human

myelin stain & diagram of
all aspects in
human

labeled line drawings of
sagittal section in
Macaca fascicularis

multiple views of
3D reconstruction in
Macaca mulatta

Species With The Structure

Equivalent By	Human	Macaque	Rat	Mouse
Topology	Has The Structure	Has The Structure	Relevant Data Not Located	Relevant Data Not Located

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Showing 10 record(s)

Basis

Has Equivalent

Organism

Their Name

Source

Topology

Yes

Homo sapiens (human)

Nuclei pulvinares

Nomina-1983

Topology

Yes

Homo sapiens (human)

Nucleus pulvinaris

Mai-1997

Topology

Yes

Homo sapiens (human)

posterior nucleus (P)

Noback-1975

Topology

Yes

Homo sapiens (human)

pulvinar

Carpenter-1983

Topology

Yes

Homo sapiens (human)

Pulvinar

Nomina-1983

Topology

Yes

Homo sapiens (human)

pulvinar nucleus

Carpenter-1983

Topology

Yes

Homo sapiens (human)

Pulvinar thalami

Nieuwenhuys-1987

Topology

Yes

Macaca fascicularis (Macaca fascicularis)

Nucleus pulvinaris thalami

Shantha-1968

Topology

Yes

Macaca fascicularis (Macaca fascicularis)

pulvinar

Martin-1997

Topology

Yes

Macaca fascicularis (Macaca fascicularis)

Pulvinar

Szabo-1984

Models Where It Appears

Structural CNS Model - Macaque

Brain structures of the macaque are illustrated in BrainInfo’s NeuroMaps macaque brain atlas. Structures are grouped by proximity in a hierarchy corresponding to the central nervous system hierarchy of NeuroNames ( Bowden-1995 Martin-2000 ). Structures in the NeuroMaps atlas are based on the segmentation of an MRI of the brain of a 3-year old male rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta). The atlas is most useful for targeting structures for implantating electrodes and chemtrodes. Updated 29 Oct 2025.