Thalamus

Consists of

lateral geniculate nucleus

medial geniculate nucleus (audition)

Input from

tonically inhibited by the internal globus pallidus (see basal ganglia#circuitry)

mamillo-thalamic tract from mammillary bodies into nucleus anterior -> anterior cingulate cortex (part of the Papez circuit)

Function

various important thalamocortical loops/circuitry???

Mechanism

isothalamus

thalamocortical neurons (aka principal(???))

no initial axon collaterals

imlies that one emitting thalamocortical neuron does not send information to its neighbor

send long-range glutamatergic projections to the cerebral cortex

microneurons

short and thin dendrites

GABA-ergic

apparently more corticothalamic than thalmocortical axons

two kinds of corticothalamic endings

classical projection - from layer 6 of cortex

thin, long, straight trajectory

glutamatergic synapses

Rockland type II

emanates from large pyramidal cells

synapses are close to the soma of the thalamic neuron

often forming center of glomerular complexes

Etymology

Gk 'bedroom chamber'

Questions

nucleus reticulus = perithalamus???

in/outside thalamus???