| Neuron: Magnocellular part | ||
|---|---|---|
| NeuroLex ID | nifext_42 | |
Magnocellular parts, also called M cells, are cells in the brain concerned primarily with visual perception. In particular these cells are responsible for resolving motion and coarse outlines. The cells have large, fast-conducting neurons and transmit information to the lateral geniculate nucleus, where the information they carry is sent on to the visual cortices, possibly after editing and gating by visual cortex exerting top-down control. The M-cells feed more to the parietal cortices, in the dorsal 'where' stream, than the temporal cortices, destination of the ventral 'what' stream. This is consistent with their coding of movement and edges as opposed to fine detail. This system of cells operates with great speed at the expense of detail.
Magnocellular cells in the Paraventricular Nucleus are thought to account for Oxytocin projections to the Nucleus Accumbens region, Stimulating an increase in pair-bonding behavior in Prairie Voles. Oxytocin has been proven to stimulate a direct increase in pair-bonding behavior when administered to the Nucleus Accumbens using a Viral Vector. However, this has not been tested in humans or any other mammalian species.
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