Intralaminar thalamic nuclei

<h2 id="anatomy">Anatomy</h2>
<h3>Structure</h3>
<p>The ITN are generally divided in two groups as follows:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a>
</p>
<ul><li>anterior (rostral) group
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Central_lateral_nucleus/3xzsLugB">central lateral nucleus</a></li>
<li>central medial nucleus (<i>not</i> referred to as "centromedial"<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>)</li>
<li>paracentral nucleus</li></ul></li>
<li>posterior (caudal) intralaminar group
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Centromedian_nucleus/mJE784BB">centromedian nucleus</a></li>
<li>parafascicular nucleus</li></ul></li></ul>
<p>Some sources also include a "central dorsal" nucleus.
</p>
<h3>Afferents</h3>
<p>Midline intralaminar nuclei receive afferents from the brain stem, spinal cord, and cerebellum. Connections with the cerebral cortex and basal nuclei are reciprocal. Afferents from the <a href="/facts/Spinothalamic_tract/HXsEpeKY">spinothalamic tract</a> as well as <a href="/facts/Periaqueductal_gray/D0wGcPvU">periaqueductal gray</a> are part of a pathway involved in pain processing.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a>
</p>
<h3>Efferents</h3>
<p>The intralaminar nuclei project efferents to the hypothalamus, amygdala, and limbic lobe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="function">Function</h2>
<p>The ITN are thought to be involved in mediating arousal, affective, autonomic responses to pain.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="clinical-significance">Clinical significance</h2>
<p>Degeneration of this area may occur in <a href="/facts/Progressive_supranuclear_palsy/xWn8Mowl">progressive supranuclear palsy</a> and <a href="/facts/Parkinson%27s_disease/xpekKj6x">Parkinson's disease</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="research">Research</h2>
<p>This area is also prominently affected in <a href="/facts/Traumatic_brain_injury/DTq110vw">traumatic brain injuries</a>. One postmortem study of patients with <a href="/facts/Closed-head_injury/aG7pEA4b">closed head injuries</a> showed correlation of the involvement of these nuclei with the various degrees of disability.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a>
</p>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Central_tegmental_tract/Y9A3t0QF">Central tegmental tract</a></li>
<li>Output of the <a href="/facts/Reticular_activating_system/p3sssWXm">ARAS</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070214094027/http://medinfo.ufl.edu/year2/neuro/review/images/thalamus.jpg">Diagram</a> at <a href="/facts/University_of_Florida/zGg0HXXs">University of Florida</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>Mancall, E., Brock, D. & Gray, H. (2011). Gray's clinical neuroanatomy the anatomic basis for clinical neuroscience. Philadelphia: Elsevier/Saunders. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>Mancall, E., Brock, D. & Gray, H. (2011). Gray's clinical neuroanatomy the anatomic basis for clinical neuroscience. Philadelphia: Elsevier/Saunders. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>NeuroName 321 <a href="http://braininfo.rprc.washington.edu/centraldirectory.aspx?ID=321" target="_blank">http://braininfo.rprc.washington.edu/centraldirectory.aspx?ID=321</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:4"><p>Schmahmann, Jeremy D. (2003-09-21). "Vascular Syndromes of the Thalamus". Stroke. 34 (9): 2264–2278. doi:10.1161/01.STR.0000087786.38997.9E. ISSN 0039-2499. PMID 12933968. S2CID 6347059. <a href="https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.STR.0000087786.38997.9E" target="_blank">https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/01.STR.0000087786.38997.9E</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:5"><p>Ropper, Allan H.; Samuels, Martin A.; Klein, Joshua; Prasad, Sashank (2023). Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology (12th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. p. 140. ISBN 978-1-264-26453-7. <a href="978-1-264-26453-7" target="_blank">978-1-264-26453-7</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:6"><p>Ropper, Allan H.; Samuels, Martin A.; Klein, Joshua; Prasad, Sashank (2023). Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology (12th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. p. 140. ISBN 978-1-264-26453-7. <a href="978-1-264-26453-7" target="_blank">978-1-264-26453-7</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:7"><p>Henderson JM, Carpenter K, Cartwright H, Halliday GM (July 2000). "Loss of thalamic intralaminar nuclei in progressive supranuclear palsy and Parkinson's disease: clinical and therapeutic implications". Brain. 123 (7): 1410–21. doi:10.1093/brain/123.7.1410. PMID 10869053. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:8"><p>Maxwell, William L.; MacKinnon, Mary Anne; Smith, Douglas H.; McIntosh, Tracy K.; Graham, David I. (2006). "Thalamic Nuclei After Human Blunt Head Injury". Journal of Neuropathology & Experimental Neurology. 65 (5): 478–488. doi:10.1097/01.jnen.0000229241.28619.75. PMID 16772871. S2CID 15304046. Retrieved 2023-03-29. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jnen/article-lookup/doi/10.1097/01.jnen.0000229241.28619.75" target="_blank">https://academic.oup.com/jnen/article-lookup/doi/10.1097/01.jnen.0000229241.28619.75</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:9"><p>Benarroch, Eduardo E. (2008-09-16). "The midline and intralaminar thalamic nuclei: Anatomic and functional specificity and implications in neurologic disease". Neurology. 71 (12): 944–949. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000326066.57313.13. ISSN 0028-3878. PMID 18794498. S2CID 3397224. <a href="https://n.neurology.org/content/71/12/944" target="_blank">https://n.neurology.org/content/71/12/944</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Intralaminar thalamic nuclei open-in-new

Intralaminar thalamic nuclei