To examine the subcorctical connections of the medial superior temporal and fundus of the superior temporal visual areas (MST and FST, respectively), we injected anterograde and retrograde tracers into 16 physiologically identified sites within the two areas in seven macaque monkeys. The subcortical connections of MST and FST were found to be very similar. Both areas were found to be reciprocally connected with the pulvinar, mainly with its medial subdivision, and with the claustrum. Nonreciprocal projections from both MST and FST were consistently found in the striatum (caudate and putamen), reticular nucleus of the thalamus, and the pontine nuclei. The labeled terminals in the pons were in the dorsolateral, lateral, dorsal, and peduncular nuclei. Additional nonreciprocal projections were found in one MST and one FST case to the nucleus of the optic tract, and, in one FST case, to the lateral terminal nucleus. Finally, three cases showed a nonreciprocal projection to FST from the basal forebrain. The subcortical structures containing label following MST and FST injections were largely the same as those labeled after injections of the middle temporal visual area (MT), but the label within each structure after MST and FST injections was more widespread than that from MT, overlapping the distribution of label that has been reported after injections of parietal visual areas. This finding is consistent with the known contributions of MST and FST to the functions of parietal cortex, such as eye-movement control.

The case of a 17-year-old girl who presented with a two-day history of absolute dysphagia secondary to a bulbar palsy due to a pre-pontine abscess is described. Rigid oesophagoscopy was normal and a neurology consultation suggested a central cause for her dysphagia. However the diagnosis was delayed because a computed tomography (CT) scan of her brain and brainstem was reported as normal. A subsequent magnetic resonance image (MRI) scan revealed a pre-pontine abscess. CT scanning is not as reliable as MRI in the diagnosis of infective lesions of the brainstem/brain, especially early in the course of the infection.

We report on a patient with an intramedullary lesion who showed only symptoms of so-called vestibular neuronitis. From the neurological aspects and MRI findings, the lesion was thought to be localized to the vestibular nerve in the pons. Cerebrospinal fluid testing and MRI findings suggested a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS), although the clinical features were not compatible with MS. This case may shed some light on the aetiology of vestibular neuronitis.