The Thalamus is a Scanner

All information comes into the thalamus before being distributed to

other parts of the brain. It’s sometimes called the scanner because it
constantly scans the environment for information
 ANATOMY OF THE
THALAMUS
Dr. Mwaka Erisa, PhD

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 Introduction- The Thalamus

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Dorsal view ventral view
 The Thalamus
(from Greek = bedroom, chamber)

•3.5cm in length,
1.5cm in width
•80 % of the diencephalon
•paired and symmetric part
of the brain
•There are 2 thalami,
one on each side of the 3rd
ventricle, they are connected
by the interthalamic adhesion
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 Introduction- The Thalamus

Insula
Internal
capsule

Lentiform
nucleus
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Coronal Section
 Coronal view
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Dorsal View
 Boundaries of the Thalamus
Anterior:
interventricular foramen

Posterior:
free pole of the pulvinar

Dorsal:
free surface underlying
the fornix and the lateral
ventricle

Ventral:
plane connecting the
hypothalamic sulci
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 Boundaries of the Thalamus

Medial:
third ventricle
Lateral:
posterior limb of the
internal capsule

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Thalamus
 Relations
Dorsal: lateral ventricle Anterior:
interventricular
foramen

Lateral: Medial: 3rd

Internal ventricle
capsule

Ventral: Subthalamus & Hypothalamus Caudal: midbrain

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 Anatomic Divisions
Internal medullary lamina
Thin sheet of myelinated fibers
Divides the thalamus into three major divisions,
each containing specific nuclei:
Anterior
Medial
Lateral

Not included in these divisions are

The intralaminar nuclei
The Reticular nucleus
 Anatomical Divisions
Anterior Division
Anterior nucleus
Medial Division
Dorsomedial Nucleus (DM)
Lateral Division
Dorsal Tier
Lateral dorsal (LD)
Lateral Posterior (LP)
Pulvinar
Ventral Tier
Ventral Anterior (VA)
Ventral Lateral (VL)
Ventral Posterior (VP)
Ventral posteriolateral (VPL)
Ventral posteriomedial (VPM)
Ventral posterioinferior
 DORSAL

POST. ANT.

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VENTRAL
 Internal medullary lamina

Interthalamic adhesion
Ant. Nucleus
Medial nucleus

Anterior Posterior

MGB
LGB
.
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 Common
Subdivision Principal Nuclei
abbreviation
Ant. nuclear group
Med. nuclear group
Lat. nuclear group
Lateral dorsal LD
Dorsal tier Lateral posterior LP
Pulvinar P
Ventral anterior VA
Ventral intermediate VI
Ventral posterior VP
Ventral tier
Ventral posterolateral VPL
Ventral posteromedial VPM
Ventral posterioinferior VPI
 Functional subdivision

According to function, the thalamus may be divided into three

groups
1. Nonspecific relay nuclei
2. Association nuclei :DM,LD,LP & Pulvinar
3. Specific relay nuclei :MGB, LGB, VPL, VPM, VL VA,
 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Anterior part
•Contains the anterior thalamic
nucleus
•This nucleus receives hypothalamic
input from the mammillary nucleus via
the mamillothalamic tract
•It receives hippocampal input via the
fornix (hippocampus).
•It projects to the cingulate gyrus.
Function : associated with that of the
limbic system and is concerned with
emotional tone and the mechanisms of
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recent memory
 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Lateral part
ventral anterior & ventral lateral
nuclei
•Motor relay nuclei associated with
somatic motor system
•VA receives from globus pallidus
& S.nigra. Projects to
supplementary motor area (6).
•VL receives from cerebellar
nuclei ( Dentate) & globus
pallidus. Projects to primary (4) &
supplementary (6) motor cortex.
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 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Lateral part

• VL circuits:
a. Cerebral-cerbellar-cerebral
b. Cerebral-basal ganglia-
cerebral

• VL lesions would ameliorate

contralateral tremor & rigidity in
patients of Parkinson's disease

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 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Medial part
•Contains the large Mediodorsal
nucleus and several smaller nuclei
•The Mediodorsal nucleus is
reciprocally connected to the
Prefrontal cortex of the frontal lobe.
•It has abundant connections with all
other groups of thalamic nuclei
•It receives input from
• amygdaloid nucleus,
• temporal neocortex, and
• substantia
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nigra.
 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Medial part

Function:
•integration of a large variety
of sensory information,
including somatic, visceral,
and olfactory information
•relate this information to
one’s emotional feeling

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 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Mediodorsal nucleus (dorsomedial nucleus)
Clinical correlate

•When destroyed, the result is a

memory loss
(Wernicke-Korsakoff
syndrome).
•It plays a role in the expression
of affect, emotion, and
behaviour (limbic function).

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 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Lateral part – Ventral tier

The ventral posterior

nucleus
• Recieves
• general somatic afferent
(GSA; pain and
temperature) and
•special visceral afferent
(SVA; taste) pathways.
Contains three subnuclei
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 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Lateral part – Ventral tier
Ventral posterolateral (VPL) nucleus

•Receives the spinothalamic tracts and the

medial lemniscus (tactile discrimination,
vibration, form recognition, joint and
muscle sensation, proprioception).
•Projects to the somatosensory cortex
(postcentral gyrus - areas 3, 1, and 2).
•These projections pass through the post.
Limb of the internal capsule and corona
radiata
•Lesion results in contralateral loss of pain
and temperature sensation, and loss of
tactile
26 discrimination in the trunk and
extremities
 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Lateral part – Ventral tier
Ventral posteromedial (VPM) nucleus

• Receives the trigeminothalamic tracts.

• Receives the taste pathway via the solitary
nucleus and the parabrachial nucleus.
• Projects to the somatosensory cortex (areas
3, 1, and 2).
• These projections pass through the post.
Limb of the internal capsule and corona
radiata
• Lesion results in contralateral loss of pain
and temperature sensation, and loss of
tactile discrimination in the head; results in
ipsilateral
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loss of taste.
 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Lateral part – Ventral tier
Ventral posteroinferior (VPI) nucleus

• Receives
vestibulothalamic
fibres from the
vestibular nuclei.
• Projects to the
vestibular area of the
somatosensory
cortex.

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 Main Thalamic Nuclei and Their Major
Connections
Intralaminar nuclei
•A groups of nuclei embedded within
the internal medullary lamina
•input from the brainstem reticular
formation, and other thalamic nuclei,
spinothalamic and trigeminothalamic
tracts
•efferent fibres to other thalamic
nuclei which, in turn, project diffusely
to the entire neocortex.
•The nuclei are believed to influence
the levels of consciousness and
alertness
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in an individual – the level
of activity of cerebral cortex
 AA
VA MD
VL
VPL
P
VPM
LGB MGB

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 Blood Supply of the Thalamus

1.Posterior communicating artery

• Gives rise to the

•anterior thalamoperforating
arteries

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 Blood Supply of the Thalamus
2.Posterior cerebral artery

• Gives rise to:

• posterior choroidal arteries.
•posterior thalamoperforating
arteries.

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 Thalamogeniculate artery

Thalamoperforating artery

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 Function of the Thalamus
•Following removal of the cortex the thalamus can
appreciate crude sensation.
•However, the cerebral cortex is required for the
interpretation of sensation based on past experience.

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 Functional Roles
Thalamus has four basic functional roles:
Sensory
All sensory information (except olfaction) is relayed to the cortex via the
thalamus
Motor
Motor system outputs from the basal ganglia and cerebellum are
relayed by the thalamus
Emotion/memory
The thalamus is part of the Papez circuit and helps control some
emotional and memory information going to limbic cortex
(cingulate gyrus)
Vegetative
The thalamus has some intrinsic nuclei associated with alertness
and arousal. Can be associated with disorders of consciousness
 Functional Roles

Thalamus doesn’t just send information to the

cortex. It receives cortical feedback
This signal helps regulate what is coming to the
cortex
Cortical input is a feedback inhibition loop,
letting the thalamus know that information has
been received and inhibiting further relaying of
the information
 Thalamic Function
• Gateway to the cerebral cortex
• Sorts, edits, and relays information
• Afferent impulses from all senses and all parts of the
body
• Impulses from the hypothalamus for regulation of
emotion and visceral function
• Impulses from the cerebellum and basal nuclei to help
direct the motor cortices
• Mediates sensation, motor activities, cortical arousal,
learning, and memory

Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc.

 Clinical considerations
Thalamic syndrome (Dejerine and Roussy)

Is usually caused by occlusion of a posterior thalamoperforating

artery!
Classic signs are:
1. Contralateral hemiparesis
2. Contralateral hemianesthesia
3. Elevated pain threshold
4. Spontaneous, agonizing, and burning pain (hyperpathia,
Thalamic Pain Syndrome)
5. Athetotic posturing of the hand (thalamic hand).
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Thalamic syndrome
of Dejerine-Roussy
Stroke caused by •
occlusion of a branch of
the PCA supplying the
posterior and lateral
thalamic nuclei.
Initially there is a •
contralateral
hemisensory loss in the
head and body.
Followed by dysesthesia •
(disagreeable sensation (axial CT scan)
produced by ordinary
stimuli), spontaneous
intractable pain
(thalamic pain) and
emotional instability. Joseph Jules Dejerine Gustave Roussy
1849-1917 1874-1948
This syndrome may include:
1.Spontaneous pain &
2.Evidence of emotional instability such as unprovoked laughing
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and crying
 Thalamic Hand
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Visual (Optic) Pathway

Modality: Vision
Receptor: Photoreceptor Cell of Retina
Cranial Nerve: II (Optic nerve)

1st Neuron: Bipolar Cell

2nd Neuron: Ganglion Cell
optic nerve
optic chiasm
optic tract
3rd Neuron: Lateral Geniculate Nucleus
optic radiation
Termination: Visual Areas (V I, V II)
Brodmann area 17 (V I), 18, 19 (V II)
 RETINA - Pars Nervosa

1. Pigment Epithelium
- retinal detachment
2. Neuronal Layer
(1) Photosensitive Cell Layer
Rod Cell, Cone Cell
(2) Bipolar Cell Layer
Bipolar Cell
Horizontal Cell
Amacrine Cell
(3) Ganglion Cell Layer
Ganglion Cell
Optic Nerve (II)
 Visual
Pathway

1. Optic nerve
2. Optic chiasm
3. Optic tract
4. Lateral
geniculate
body
5. Optic radiation
6. Visual cortex
Visual (Optic) Pathway
Lateral Geniculate Nucleus (LGd) Visual Pathway

dorsolateral Dorsal Nucleus (LGd)

Magnocellular Part
1, 2
Parvocellular Part
3, 4, 5, 6
contralateral afferents
1, 4, 6
ipsilateral afferents
2, 3, 5

Ventral Nucleus (LGv)

part of thalamic
ventromedial reticular nucleus
Optic Radiation (Geniculocalcarine Tract)

Meyer’s loop
Clinical Features of Visual Pathway Lesion

1. optic nerve
2. optic chiasm
3. optic tract
4. 5. optic radiation

A. unilateral blindness
B. bitemporal hemianopsia
C. left homonymous
hemianopsia
D. left inferior homony-
mous quadranopsia
E. left superior homony-
mous quadranopsia
 Signs of Visual Pathway Lesion

Optic nerve
- ipsilateral blindness
Optic chiasm
- bitemporal hemianopsia
Optic tract
- contralateral homonymous hemianopsia
Optic radiation
- contralateral homonymous quadranopsia
- intact light reflex
Visual Cortex
- contralateral homonymous quadranopsia
- macular sparing
 Visual Field Defect

left inferior optic radiation lesion

right superior quadranopsia
Hypothalamus  Limbic System
 Epithalamus  Limbic System

Habenular Nucleus
Medial Habenular Nucleus

Lateral Habenular Nucleus

Habenular Commissure

Pineal Gland
 Subthalamus  Basal Ganglia

Subthalamic nucleus
zona incerta
Field of Forel
ansa lenticularis H
thalamic fasciculus H1
lenticular fasciculus H2