Anatomy of thalamus

What is the anatomy of the thalamus? 

The intermedullary lamina divides the thalamus into anterior, medial, and lateral groups. The lateral group is further divided into ventral and dorsal tiers. Each group contains specific nuclei:

  • • Anterior group: anterior nucleus
  • • Medial group: dorsomedial (DM) nucleus
  • • Lateral group:
    • • Dorsal tier
    • • Lateral dorsal (LD) nucleus
    • • Lateral posterior (LP) nucleus
    • • Pulvinar
    • • Ventral tier ventral anterior (VA) nucleus
    • • VL nucleus
    • • VPL nucleus
    • • VPM nucleus
    • • Lateral geniculate (LG)
    • • Medial geniculate (MG)

Other nuclei that are often considered part of the thalamus include (1) reticular nucleus—a small group of neurons that projects to other thalamic nuclei and may help regulate cortical activity; (2) midline nuclei—diffuse neurons connected to the hypothalamus; and (3) centromedian (CM)—an intralaminar nucleus that is part of the reticular formation that activates the cortex.

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