A koniocellular cell is a neuron

Neuron

A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...

 whose cell body is located in the koniocellular layer of the lateral geniculate nucleus

Lateral geniculate nucleus

The lateral geniculate nucleus is the primary relay center for visual information received from the retina of the eye. The LGN is found inside the thalamus of the brain....

 in primates, including humans. The koniocellular cells receive their input from bistratified retinal ganglion cells

Bistratified cell

A small-field bistratified cell, or just bistratified cell, is a retinal ganglion cell whose cell body is located in the ganglion cell layer of the retina. Bistratified cells receive their input from bipolar cells and amacrine cells...

 exiting the optic tract

Optic tract

The optic tract is a part of the visual system in the brain.It is a continuation of the optic nerve and runs from the optic chiasm to the lateral geniculate nucleus....

, and send their information via relay neurons

Interneuron

An interneuron is a multipolar neuron which connects afferent neurons and efferent neurons in neural pathways...

 in the optic radiation

Optic radiation

The optic radiation is a collection of axons from relay neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus carrying visual information to the visual cortex along the calcarine fissure.There is one such tract on each side of the brain.-Parts:A distinctive...

 to the primary visual cortex. The koniocellular layers are located between the magnocellular and parvocellular layers, in thin interlaminar regions of the LGN. As part of a general pattern, K neurons form robust layers through the full representation of the visual hemifield.

Input to cells

The small-field bistratified retinal ganglion cells have their cell body in the retina, and extend their axons to the LGN. The first synapse in the central visual pathway

Visual system

The visual system is the part of the central nervous system which enables organisms to process visual detail, as well as enabling several non-image forming photoresponse functions. It interprets information from visible light to build a representation of the surrounding world...

 is the bistratified cell with the koniocellular cell in the LGN. The LGN of primates, located in the thalamus

Thalamus

The thalamus is a midline paired symmetrical structure within the brains of vertebrates, including humans. It is situated between the cerebral cortex and midbrain, both in terms of location and neurological connections...

, is a laminated structure with 6 distinct layers of neurons. The LGN receives the sensory input from the retinal ganglion cells, and divides the incoming information into the four dorsal parvocellular and two ventral magnocellular layers. The koniocellular layers are interspersed between the magnocellular and parvocellular layers. The visual information from the two eyes are kept separate at this point, and are not brought together until reaching the visual cortex.

Layers

Similar in physiology and connectivity to W cells in cat lateral geniculate nucleus, K cells form three pairs of layers in macaques.

• The middle pair relays input from short-wavelength cones to the cytochrome-oxidase blobs of primary visual cortex
  Visual cortex
  The visual cortex of the brain is the part of the cerebral cortex responsible for processing visual information. It is located in the occipital lobe, in the back of the brain....
  
   (V1), .
• The dorsal-most pair relays low-acuity visual information to layer I of V1.
• The ventral-most pair appears closely tied to the function of the superior colliculus
  Superior colliculus
  The optic tectum or simply tectum is a paired structure that forms a major component of the vertebrate midbrain. In mammals this structure is more commonly called the superior colliculus , but, even in mammals, the adjective tectal is commonly used. The tectum is a layered structure, with a...
  
  .

Throughout each K layer are neurons that innervate extrastriate cortex and that are likely to sustain some visual behaviors in the absence of V1..