Luminance encoding in the human brain

The main pathway through which visual signals are routed to cortex includes the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus and primary visual cortex. However, recent work has identified in the mouse a new separate pathway. This pathway includes the dorso-thalamic perihabenula and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex which plays a key role in mood regulation. In addition to studying this newly identified pathway in the mouse, our lab uses functional MRI to test whether the new pathway exists also in humans, and if so, whether it contributes to mood regulation.