Diencephalon

Thalamus Limbic system

 Diencephalon
The diencephalon consists of the hypothalamus,
subthalamus, dorsal thalamus and epithalmus.
Thalamus
Location: Part of the forebrain,
below the corpus callosum

 Thalamus is a mass of gray matter

situated at the rostral end of the
brainstem.
 Thalamus functions as an important
relay and integrative station for
sensory signals and motor information
passing to all areas of the cerebral
cortex, the basal ganglia, the
hypothalamus, and the brainstem.
 It also regulates consciousness, sleep
and alertness.
As a result of the location of the
internal medullary lamina, each
thalamus is divided into roughly
three main parts:
 the anterior,
 medial and
 lateral thalamus.
The anterior part lies between
the short limbs of the internal
medullary lamina, while the
medial and lateral parts lie on
the respective side of the main
stem of the “Y”. The left
thalamus communicates with the
right thalamus by way of the
interthalamic adhesion.
Arrangement of nuclei

 The thalamus comprises a system

of lamellae (made up of
myelinated fibers) separating
different thalamic subparts.
 All thalamic nuclei contain many
inhibitory interneurons
(GABAergic and peptidergic) that
can modulate the transmission of
signals through the thalamus.
 the major thalamic nuclei can be
divided into the following groups:
anterior, medial, lateral, midline,
and intralaminar nuclei. In
addition, the terms specific,
association, and nonspecific nuclei
have also been used to functionally
define and characterize the
thalamic nuclei
 Types of Thalamic Nuclei
There are three basic types of
thalamic nuclei:
i) relay nuclei; Relay nuclei
receive very well defined inputs
and project this signal to
functionally distinct areas of the
cerebral cortex.
These include the nuclei that
relay primary sensations (the
ventral posterolateral - VPL,
ventral posteromedial - VPM,
medial geniculate and lateral
geniculate nuclei) and also the
nuclei involved in feedback of
cerebellar signals (ventral lateral
- VL) and in feedback of basal
gangliar output (part of the VL
and the ventral anterior nucleus -
VA).
 Types of Thalamic Nuclei

ii) association nuclei;

 The association nuclei are the second
type of thalamic nuclei and receive
most of their input from the cerebral
cortex.
 The dorsomedial nucleus (DM; also
known as the mediodorsal nucleus
MD) is an association nucleus that
has a medial and lateral subdivision.
The lateral part receives projections
from the superior colliculus,
olfactory cortex and the ventral
pallidum.
 The medial portion of the MD, along
with the midline nuclei, receives
inputs from several brain areas,
amygdala and ventral pallidum.
Damage to this area can also impair
memory as may happen with the
amnestic syndrome due to
alcoholism.
 Types of Thalamic Nuclei

iii) nonspecific nuclei. The third type of thalamic nuclei are the nonspecific nuclei,
including many of the intralaminar and midline thalamic nuclei that project quite broadly
through the cerebral cortex, may be involved in general functions such as alerting.
NONSPECIFIC NUCLEI
 Clinical significance of thalamus:
Thalamus is an important relay and integrative center. Disease of this area of
the central nervous system will have profound effects. The thalamus may be
invaded by neoplasm, undergo degeneration following disease of its arterial
supply, or be damaged by hemorrhage.
The Limbic System

The limbic system is a complex set of

structures that lies on both sides of the
thalamus, just under the cerebrum.
It includes the hypothalamus, the
hippocampus, the amygdala, and
several other nearby areas.
It appears to be primarily responsible for
our emotional life, and has a lot to do with
the formation of memories. In this drawing,
you are looking at the brain cut in half, but
with the brain stem intact.
Hypothalamus

This is known as the “master gland”

which controls/masters all the other
glands. The mammillary body can be
seen with the naked eye. The
hypothalamus controls the
autonomic nervous system, emotions
(it’s right at the center of the Limbic
system), thermostat, hunger/thirst,
pleasure, circadian rhythm, entire
endocrine system and memory via
input from the hippocampus. The
pituitary gland is held by a stalk
called the infundibulum.
Hippocampus
•he hippocampal formation consists of the
hippocampus, dentate gyrus, and subicular
cortex
•play key role in forming new
memories
•it converts short term memory to
long term memory. How does this
relate to emotions?
•When you think back on memories it
can evoke all kinds of emotions
•its main function is to form long
term memories
•people who damage this area have
trouble forming new memories where
everything experienced just fades
away.
HYPOTHALAMUS (HYPO = BELOW; BELOW THALAMUS)

•Plays a role in regulating the

autonomic nervous system (ANS)
that relates to emotions
•it is the 'flight or fight' vs. 'rest and
digest' responses
•It does this by controlling the
endocrine system, by triggering the
release of hormones into
your bloodstream. And some of
these hormones that are triggered to
release are things like epinephrine
(adrenaline) and norepinephrine
(noradrenaline).
•In terms of emotions, it is most
important to note that it regulates
the ANS, which is the flight or fight
vs. rest and digest response.
 Amygdala

There are functional differences between

the right and left amygdala. In one study,
electrical stimulations of the right amygdala
induced negative emotions, especially fear
and sadness. In contrast, stimulation of the
left amygdala was able to induce either
pleasant (happiness) or unpleasant (fear,
anxiety, sadness) emotions.
The amygdala sends projections to
the hypothalamus, the dorsomedial
thalamus, the thalamic reticular nucleus,
the nuclei of the trigeminal nerve and
the facial nerve, the ventral tegmental
area, the locus coeruleus, and
the laterodorsal tegmental nucleus.
Function
Emotional learning
Memory modulation
Social interaction
limbic structures receive inputs
from at least two sources:
(1) from one or more sensory
systems, either directly or
indirectly through
interneurons in the cerebral
cortex, and
(2) from brainstem
monoaminergic fiber systems.
Limbic neurons then project
directly or indirectly to the
hypothalamus
The primary output is through the fornix to the diencephalon (i.e., medial
hypothalamus, mammillary bodies, and anterior thalamic nucleus) via the
postcommissural fornix and to the septal area via the precommissural fornix. Other
connections shown include efferent fibers that synapse in entorhinal cortex, which, in
turn, project to amygdala and cingulate gyrus.