Our evidence from both cytoarchitecture and studies of connections suggests that LE GROS CLARK was correct in postulating that the lateral posterior nucleus of primitive mammals is the homologue to the primate pulvinar. It seems evident that during mammalian evolution both this region of the thalamus and its cortical target have grown larger and more complex. Truly intrinsic subdivisions may have appeared not only in the primates but also independently in other mammalian lines of descent, such as the carnivores. One main goal of our laboratory is to ask how functional subdivisions are related to the increasing subdivisions of structure. Our hope is that this line of inquiry might contribute to an understanding of those functions most recently evolved in mammalian evolution.
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Harting et al. (2008) studied this question.