The cerebral cortex is a group of tight, dense, " gray matter " composed of the nucleus of the neurons whose axons then form the " white matter ", and is responsible for perception, relay of the sensory input ( sensation ) via the thalamic pathway, and most importantly directly or indirectly in charge of all the neurological functions, from simple reflexes to complex thinking.

The pulvinar is usually grouped as one of the lateral thalamic nuclei in rodents and carnivores, and stands as an independent complex in primates.

The pulvinar varies in importance in different animals: it is virtually nonexistent in the rat, and grouped as the lateral posterior-pulvinar complex " with the lateral posterior thalamic nucleus due to its small size in cats.

It is important to note that the distinction between a dorsal and ventral striatum on the basis of specific cortical, thalamic, and dopaminergic inputs does not provide sharply defined borders between these striatal areas.

The target site is the anterior cingulate cortex ; the operation disconnects the thalamic and posterior frontal regions and damages the anterior cingulate region.

The aim of the operation is to disconnect the orbitofrontal cortex and thalamic nuclei.

Newer research suggests that thalamic function is more selective. Many different functions are linked to various regions of the thalamus.

The thalamus is functionally connected to the hippocampus as part of the extended hippocampal system at the thalamic anterior nuclei with respect to spatial memory and spatial sensory datum they are crucial for human episodic memory and rodent event memory.

There is support for the hypothesis that thalamic regions connection to particular parts of the mesio-temporal lobe provide differentiation of the functioning of recollective and familiarity memory.

At the interface between the expression domains of Fez and Otx, the mid-diencephalic organizer ( MDO, also called the ZLI organiser ) is induced within the thalamic anlage.

Studies in chicks have shown that Shh is both necessary and sufficient for thalamic gene induction.

In zebrafish, it was shown that the expression of two Shh genes, shh-a and shh-b ( formerly described as twhh ) mark the MDO territory, and that Shh signaling is sufficient for the molecular differentiation of both the prethalamus and the thalamus but is not required for their maintenance and Shh signaling from the MDO / alar plate is sufficient for the maturation of prethalamic and thalamic territory while ventral Shh signals are dispensable.

Expression of this hairy-like bHLH transcription factor, which represses Neurogenin but is required for Ascl1, is progressively lost from the caudal thalamus but maintained in the prethalamus and in the stripe of rostral thalamic cells.

The limbic system ( or Paleomammalian brain ) is a set of brain structures, including the hippocampus, amygdalae, anterior thalamic nuclei, septum, limbic cortex and fornix, which seemingly support a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, motivation, long-term memory, and olfaction.

In marked contrast to touch / position information, however, pain / temperature information is also sent to other thalamic nuclei, and is projected onto additional areas of the cerebral cortex.

Its shape resembles a tiny pine cone ( hence its name ), and it is located near the centre of the brain, between the two hemispheres, tucked in a groove where the two rounded thalamic bodies join.

The pineal gland is reddish-gray and about the size of a grain of rice ( 5 – 8 mm ) in humans, located just rostro-dorsal to the superior colliculus and behind and beneath the stria medullaris, between the laterally positioned thalamic bodies.

It is caused by lesions in the medial thalamic nuclei, mammillary bodies, periaqueductal and periventricular brainstem nuclei, and superior cerebellar vermis, often resulting from inadequate intake or absorption of thiamine ( vitamin B < sub > 1 </ sub >), especially in conjunction with carbohydrate ingestion.

This is a direct result of the abnormal dopaminergic input to the striatum, thus ( indirectly ) disinhibition of thalamic activity.

SHH signaling from the MDO induces a posterior-to-anterior wave of expression the proneural gene Neurogenin1 in the major ( caudal ) part of the thalamus, and Ascl1 ( formerly Mash1 ) in the remaining narrow stripe of rostral thalamic cells immediately adjacent to the MDO, and in the prethalamus.

Neurons send excitatory fibers to neurons in the thalamus and also from collateral to them ones via the thalamic reticular nucleus that inhibit these thalamus neurons or ones adjacent to them.

Later in 1932, Lhermitte, Levy, and Trelles discovered an association between peduncular hallucinosis and “ pigmentary degeneration of the periaqueductal gray and the degeneration of the occulomotor nucleus .” Posterior thalamic lesions were also found to be linked to peduncular hallucinosis by De Morsier.

However, it has been shown in thalamic slices from mice, that the stimulus also causes nearby astrocytes to release Adenosine Triphosphate ( ATP ), a precursor to adenosine ( through a catabolic process ).

The insula also receives differential cortical and thalamic input along its length.

Nissl also examined the neural connections between the human cortex and thalamic nuclei ; he was in the midst of this study at the time of his death.

The nigral territory corresponds to the nucleus ventralis anterior ( VA ) ( see also List of thalamic nuclei ) ( different from the pallidal VO ).

CNH was also reported in cases involving a frontal lobe tumor, an invasive laryngeal carcinoma compressing the midbrain, an extension of tumors of the head and neck into the base of the brain, and thalamic hemorrhage.

Two of these regions that the APN is known to project to are the zona incerta and posterior thalamic nucleus.

The discovery of projections from the pretectum to several thalamic nuclei involved in cortical activation during REM sleep, specifically the projection to the superchiasmatic nucleus which is part of a known REM sleep regulatory mechanism, supports this hypothesis.

C = cervical segment, S = sacral segment, VPL = ventral posterolateral nucleus, SI = primary somatosensory cortex, VM = ventromedial prefrontal cortex, MD = medial dorsal thalamic nucleus, IL = intralaminar nucleus, VPM = ventral posteromedial nucleus, Main V = main trigeminal nucleus, Spinal V = spinal trigeminal nucleus

A number of neuroanatomical targets have been utilised for deep brain stimulation for TRD including the subgenual cingulate gyrus, nucleus accumbens, ventral capsule / ventral striatum, inferior thalamic peduncle and the lateral habenula.

Stereotactic ventral intermediate thalamotomy and use of a thalamic stimulator have been shown to be effective in treating these conditions.

The NOT has efferent projections to the zona incerta of the subthalamus, several nuclei of the pons, medulla, intralaminar nuclei, midbrain, and dorsal and ventral thalamic nuclei.

The posterior insula connects reciprocally with the secondary somatosensory cortex ( S2 ) and receives input from spinothalamically activated ventral posterior inferior ( VPI ) thalamic nuclei.

The thalamic reticular nucleus is part of the ventral thalamus that forms a capsule around the thalamus laterally.

The thalamus comprises a system of lamellae ( made up of myelinated fibers ) separating different thalamic subparts.

The rostral thalamus will give rise to the reticular nucleus mainly whereby the caudal thalamus will form the relay thalamus and will be further subdivided in the thalamic nuclei.

The anterior cingulate cortex receives primarily its afferent axons from the intralaminar and midline thalamic nuclei ( see thalamus ).

One study found that up to 8 % of people who have had a stroke will develop Central Post-stroke Pain, and that the pain will be moderate to severe in 5 % of those affected .< sup > 1 </ sup > The condition was formerly called “ thalamic pain ”, because of the high incidence among those with damage to the thalamus or thalamic nuclei.

This is the only thalamic nucleus that does not project to the cerebral cortex, instead it modulates the information from other nuclei in the thalamus.

More specifically, the DBS electrodes targeted the anterior intralaminar nuclei of thalamus and adjacent paralaminar regions of thalamic association nuclei.

The thalamic reticular nucleus ( TRN ) receives incoming signals via corticothalamic pathways and regulates activity within the thalamus accordingly.

1996 ) offers partial support to this claim by suggesting that thalamic GABAergic local circuit neurons in mammalian brains relate more to processing ability compared to sensorimotor ability, as they reflect an increasing complexity of local information processing in the thalamus.

It is proposed that core relay cells and matrix cells projecting from the dorsal thalamus allow for synchronization of cortical and thalamic cells during " high-frequency oscillations that underlie discrete conscious events ", though this is a heavily debated area of research.

The medial geniculate nucleus ( MGN ) or medial geniculate body ( MGB ) is part of the auditory thalamus and represents the thalamic relay between the inferior colliculus ( IC ) and the auditory cortex ( AC ).