Thalamus
The thalamus (: thalami; from Greek language, Greek Wikt:θάλαμος, θάλαμος, "chamber") is a large mass of gray matter on the lateral wall of the third ventricle forming the wikt:dorsal, dorsal part of the diencephalon (a division of the forebrain). Nerve fibers project out of the thalamus to the cerebral cortex in all directions, known as the thalamocortical radiations, allowing hub (network science), hub-like exchanges of information. It has several functions, such as the relaying of sensory neuron, sensory and motor neuron, motor signals to the cerebral cortex and the regulation of consciousness, sleep, and alertness. Anatomically, the thalami are paramedian symmetrical structures (left and right), within the vertebrate brain, situated between the cerebral cortex and the midbrain. It forms during embryonic development as the main product of the diencephalon, as first recognized by the Swiss embryologist and anatomist Wilhelm His Sr. in 1893. Anatomy The thalami ar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thalamic Reticular Nucleus
The thalamic reticular nucleus is part of the ventral thalamus that forms a capsule around the thalamus laterally. However, recent evidence from mice and fish question this statement and define it as a dorsal thalamic structure. It is separated from the thalamus by the external medullary lamina. Reticular nucleus cells are all GABAergic, and have discoid dendritic arbors in the plane of the nucleus. Thalamic Reticular Nucleus is variously abbreviated TRN, RTN, NRT, and RT. The TRN is found in all mammals. Input and output The thalamic reticular nucleus receives input from the cerebral cortex and dorsal thalamic nuclei. Most input comes from collaterals of fibers passing through the thalamic reticular nucleus. The outputs from the primary thalamic reticular nucleus project to dorsal thalamic nuclei, but never to the cerebral cortex. This is the only thalamic nucleus that does not project to the cerebral cortex. Instead it modulates the information from other nuclei in the thala ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thalamocortical Radiations
In neuroanatomy, thalamocortical radiations, also known as thalamocortical fibers, are the efferent fibers that project from the thalamus to distinct areas of the cerebral cortex. They form fiber bundles that emerge from the lateral surface of the thalamus. Structure Thalamocortical fibers (TC fibers) have been referred to as one of the two constituents of the isothalamus, the other being microneurons. Thalamocortical fibers have a bush or tree-like appearance as they extend into the internal capsule and project to the layers of the cortex. The thalamus supplies all parts of the neocortex with afferents. The main thalamocortical fibers extend from different nuclei of the thalamus and project to the visual cortex, somatosensory (and associated sensori-motor) cortex, and the auditory cortex in the brain. Thalamocortical radiations also innervate gustatory and olfactory pathways, as well as pre-frontal motor areas. Visual input from the optic tract is processed by the lateral ge ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Interthalamic Adhesion
The interthalamic adhesion (also known as the massa intermedia, intermediate mass or middle commissure) is a flattened band of tissue that connects both parts of the thalamus at their medial surfaces. The medial surfaces form the upper part of the lateral wall to the third ventricle. In humans, it is only about one centimeter long – though in females, it is about 50% larger on average. Sometimes, it is in two parts – and 20% of the time, it is absent. In other mammals, it is larger. In 1889, a Portuguese anatomist by the name of Macedo examined 215 brains, showing that male humans are approximately twice as likely to lack an interthalamic adhesion as are female humans. He also reported its absence, still reported today in about 20% of humans. Its absence is seen to be of no consequence. The interthalamic adhesion contains nerve cells and nerve fibers; a few of the latter may cross the middle line, but most of them pass toward the middle line and then curve laterally on the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pulvinar Nuclei
The pulvinar nuclei or nuclei of the pulvinar (nuclei pulvinares) are the nuclei ( cell bodies of neurons) located in the thalamus (a part of the vertebrate brain). As a group they make up the collection called the pulvinar of the thalamus (pulvinar thalami), usually just called the pulvinar. The pulvinar is usually grouped as one of the ''lateral thalamic nuclei'' in rodents and carnivores, and stands as an independent complex in primates. Pulvinar acts as an association nucleus that, along with medial dorsal nucleus, connected with parietal, occipital, and temporal lobes, but the function is largely unknown. No distinctive syndrome or obvious sensory deficit can be linked to either one. Structure By convention, the pulvinar is divided into four nuclei: Their connectomic details are as follows: * The ''lateral'' and ''inferior'' pulvinar nuclei have widespread connections with early visual cortical areas. * The dorsal part of the ''lateral'' pulvinar nucleus predominant ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Diencephalon
In the human brain, the diencephalon (or interbrain) is a division of the forebrain (embryonic ''prosencephalon''). It is situated between the telencephalon and the midbrain (embryonic ''mesencephalon''). The diencephalon has also been known as the tweenbrain in older literature. It consists of structures that are on either side of the third ventricle, including the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the epithalamus and the subthalamus. The diencephalon is one of the main brain vesicle, vesicles of the brain formed during human embryonic development, embryonic development. During the third week of development a neural tube is created from the ectoderm, one of the three primary germ layers, and forms three main vesicles: the prosencephalon, the Midbrain, mesencephalon and the Hindbrain, rhombencephalon. The prosencephalon gradually divides into the telencephalon (the cerebrum) and the diencephalon. Structure The diencephalon consists of the following structures: * Thalamus * Hypothalamus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Neothalamus
The paleothalamus is an obsolete term for the portion of the thalamus that is believed to be phylogenetically (or evolutionarily) older than other parts of the thalamus. Specifically, the midline and medial nuclei of the thalamus, as well as the intralaminar nucleus, are considered to belong to the paleothalamus The term "paleothalamus" is opposed to the paired term neothalamus (also considered to be obsolete), which designates the phylogenetically (or evolutionarily) newer or younger parts of the thalamus, specifically, lateral nuclei of the thalamus, the pulvinar and the geniculate bodies. Initially, the paleothalamus was distinguished from other parts of the thalamus (i.e. from the neothalamus) on the basis that paleothalamic nuclei were believed to lack reciprocal connections with neocortex The neocortex, also called the neopallium, isocortex, or the six-layered cortex, is a set of layers of the mammalian cerebral cortex involved in higher-order brain functions such ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Midbrain
The midbrain or mesencephalon is the uppermost portion of the brainstem connecting the diencephalon and cerebrum with the pons. It consists of the cerebral peduncles, tegmentum, and tectum. It is functionally associated with vision, hearing, motor control, sleep and wakefulness, arousal (alertness), and temperature regulation.Breedlove, Watson, & Rosenzweig. Biological Psychology, 6th Edition, 2010, pp. 45-46 The name ''mesencephalon'' comes from the Greek ''mesos'', "middle", and ''enkephalos'', "brain". Structure The midbrain is the shortest segment of the brainstem, measuring less than 2cm in length. It is situated mostly in the posterior cranial fossa, with its superior part extending above the tentorial notch. The principal regions of the midbrain are the tectum, the cerebral aqueduct, tegmentum, and the cerebral peduncles. Rostral and caudal, Rostrally the midbrain adjoins the diencephalon (thalamus, hypothalamus, etc.), while Rostral and caudal, cau ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brain
The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for special senses such as visual perception, vision, hearing, and olfaction. Being the most specialized organ, it is responsible for receiving information from the sensory nervous system, processing that information (thought, cognition, and intelligence) and the coordination of motor control (muscle activity and endocrine system). While invertebrate brains arise from paired segmental ganglia (each of which is only responsible for the respective segmentation (biology), body segment) of the ventral nerve cord, vertebrate brains develop axially from the midline dorsal nerve cord as a brain vesicle, vesicular enlargement at the rostral (anatomical term), rostral end of the neural tube, with centralized control over all body segments. All vertebr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Third Ventricle
The third ventricle is one of the four connected cerebral ventricles of the ventricular system within the mammalian brain. It is a slit-like cavity formed in the diencephalon between the two thalami, in the midline between the right and left lateral ventricles, and is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Running through the third ventricle is the interthalamic adhesion, which contains thalamic neurons and fibers that may connect the two thalami. Structure The third ventricle is a narrow, laterally flattened, vaguely rectangular region, filled with cerebrospinal fluid, and lined by ependyma. It is connected at the superior anterior corner to the lateral ventricles, by the interventricular foramina, and becomes the cerebral aqueduct (''aqueduct of Sylvius'') at the posterior caudal corner. Since the interventricular foramina are on the lateral edge, the corner of the third ventricle itself forms a bulb, known as the ''anterior recess'' (it is also known as the ''bulb ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dorsal
Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ... * Dorsal consonant, a consonant articulated with the back of the tongue * Dorsal fin, the fin located on the back of a fish or aircraft * Dorsal transcription factor, a maternally synthesized transcription factor {{disambig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Embryonic Development
In developmental biology, animal embryonic development, also known as animal embryogenesis, is the developmental stage of an animal embryo. Embryonic development starts with the fertilization of an egg cell (ovum) by a sperm, sperm cell (spermatozoon). Once fertilized, the ovum becomes a single diploid cell known as a zygote. The zygote undergoes mitosis, mitotic cell division, divisions with no significant growth (a process known as cleavage (embryo), cleavage) and cellular differentiation, leading to development of a multicellular embryo after passing through an organizational checkpoint during mid-embryogenesis. In mammals, the term refers chiefly to the early stages of prenatal development, whereas the terms fetus and fetal development describe later stages. The main stages of animal embryonic development are as follows: * The zygote undergoes a series of cell divisions (called cleavage) to form a structure called a morula. * The morula develops into a structure called a bla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |