Visual input to rat pineal

Summary Electrophysiological recordings from freely behaving rats, previously implanted stereotaxically with permanent electrodes in the pineal, ventromedial hypothalamus, caudate nucleus, lateral geniculate body and medial geniculate body were obtained. The pineal photic responses revealed 5 sequential components. Injection of a neuronal blocker at the level of the superior cervical ganglion did not alter the earlier photic responses, but did eliminate the late components (N₂–P₃) for 60–90 min after the injection. All of the other responses were unchanged during the experiment. The present experiments demonstrated that photic input travels to the pineal through two pathways.The author is grateful to Dr C.M. Prashad and Ms. Marjorie Brown for technical assistance. Supported in part by grant NS 16596.