Evidence of a direct influence between the thalamus and hMTÂ + independent of V1 in the human brain as measured by fMRI

► The human middle temporal complex (hMT +) is devoted to motion perception. ► We studied whether motion information reaches hMT + directly from the thalamus. ► Conditional Granger Causality and Coherence during optic flow were measured by fMRI. ► A significant direct influence of LGN on hMT+, independent of V1, was detected. ► Shorter latencies suggest an earlier processing of motion in hMT + than in V1.