The upper/dorsal group of thalamus nuclei, located "on top", dorsally of, the lower/ventral thalamus nuclearcomplex, consists of nucl. lateralis dorsalis, nucl. lateralis posterior and pulvinar.
Common to the core group are:
a/ limited subcortical connections
b/ extensive return connections with the PTO area of the cerebral cortex.
c/ to be switching sites that allow different areas of the cortex to interact with each other.