Diencephalon

Functional anatomy
and
histology

Basic terms

Diencephalon: the brain part between the forebrain

and midbrain (Zwischenhirn).
Cavity: third ventricle.
Dorsal diencephalon: thalamus, epithalamus,
metathalamus.
Ventral diencephalon: hypothalamus.
Subthalamus: brain area connecting the midbrain
and the diencephalon.
Epithalamus: corpus pineale, habenula, commissura
posterior, stria medullaris.
Metathalamus: corpus geniculatum mediale (CGM),
corpus geniculatum laterale (CGL).

Vena interna cerebri

THE MEDIAL SIDE OF THE DIENCEPHALON: GREEN LINE SHOWS THE TENIA THALAMI

F: fornix
ME: mesencephalon
P: pons
MY: medulla
CE: cerebellum
1: corpus callosum
2: septum pellucidum
3: thalamus
4: hypothalamus
5: hypophysis
Arrows: tentorium cerebelli

Frontal plane section cutting

through the anterior thalamus
(medial, ventral nuclei,
internal capsule)

Horizontal plane section through the dorsal thalamus

PULVINAR THALAMI,
EPITHALAMUS

Pul

pulvinar

Pineal gland
Pul

Post. commissure

Topography

Laterally: capsula interna

Dorsally: nucleus caudatus, cella media
(ventriculus lateralis)
Medially: ventriculus tertius
Ventrally: subthalamus, substantia nigra
Subthalamus: nucleus subthalamicus, ansa
lenticularis, fasciculus thalamicus, fasciculus
lenticularis
Posterior: tectum mesencephali
Anterior: nucleus caudatus, capsula interna,
lamina terminalis

Thalamus, nuclei basales (nucl. caudatus, nucl. lentiformis), capsula interna

as seen on a horizontal brain section. The claustrum and the insula are also
visible, with the capsula externa and the capsula extrema (white matter).

Tracts in the internal capsule:

1. Radiationes thalami
2. Tractus corticopontinus
3. Tractus corticobulbaris
4. Tractus corticospinalis
5. Tractus parietopontinus
6. Tractus occipitopontinus
7. Tractus temporopontinus

MOTOR
TRACTS

INTERNAL CAPSULE:
THE LOCALIZATION,
THE FIBER SYSTEMS
INSIDE THE INTERNAL
CAPSULE.

Thalamus: white matter

Outer

envelope: external medullary lamina.

Inner white matter: internal medullary
lamina separates the nuclei.
Pedunculi thalami: fiber tracts connecting
the cerebral cortex with thalamic nuclei.
Thalamic radiation: every thalamic peduncle
(anterior, superior, posterior, inferior),
containing thalamocortical and
corticothalamic axons.

Thalamus: grey matter

Nuclei anteriores: fasciculus mammillothalamicus; cortical

projection: gyrus cinguli.
Nuclei mediales: amygdala, olfactory cortex, other thalamic
nuclei; cortical projection: anteromedial frontal lobe.
Nuclei dorsales (pulvinar): visual association/memory functions.
Nuclei ventrales: VA, VL (motor thalamus); VPL, VPM (sensory
thalamus).
Nuclei intralaminares: connection to sensory tracts, reticular
formation, striatum, large areas of the neocortex (non-specific
activation system: arousal, attention).
Nucleus reticularis thalami: GABAergic inhibitory neurons.
Corpus geniculatum laterale (LGB): optic tract terminates here;
projects to the visual cortex (occipital lobe).
Corpus geniculatum mediale (MGB): auditory system (inferior
colliculus projects to it; MGB connects to the superior temporal
gyrus (auditory neocortex).

Afferents and efferents of the

motor thalamus
Ventralis

anterior
AFF: globus pallidus, substantia nigra;
EFF: frontal neocortex.
Ventralis lateralis
AFF: globus pallidus, nuclei cerebellares;
EFF: premotor cortex (frontal lobe).
Clinical: electrical stimulation of these
nuclei is beneficial in some movement
disorders.

Afferents and efferents of the

sensory thalamus
Nucleus

ventralis posterolateralis (VPL):

AFF: tractus spinothalamicus, lemniscus
medialis. EFF: gyrus postcentralis.
Nucleus ventralis posteromedialis (VPM):
AFF: lemniscus trigeminalis, tractus
solitariothalamicus. EFF: gyrus
postcentralis.

Intralaminar nuclei
Anterior

and posterior groups.

Connected to many neocortical areas.
Connected to the striatum.
Afferent come from ascending sensory tracts,
reticular formation, substantia nigra.
Functions: movement regulation (striatum,
substantia nigra), pain perception, non
specific ascending activation system (arousal,
attention).

Thalamus and pain

Nuclei

posteriores: afferents from

spinothalamic tract, efferents to the parietal
lobe.
Nuclei ventrales (ventralis posterior
inferior, basalis ventralis medialis):
afferents from lemniscus medialis, tr.
spinothalamicus; efferents to the insular
cortex.
Nucleus centralis lateralis: intralaminar
nucleus afferents from reticular formation
and from spinothalamic tract. Efferents to the
medial surface of the frontal lobe.

NUCLEI,
AFFERENTS,
EFFERENTS,
PEDUNCLES,
NEOCORTICAL
RELATIONS

Glutamic acid transmitter and

receptor (NMDA) detected in
the VPL.
Large calyciform synapse
(scientific collection of the
Anatomy Department).

Projection neuron (relay):

excitatory (glutamic acid)

Interneuron: inhibitory (GABA)

Thalamic relay
neurons (principal
neurons) which
project to the
neocortex.

Sensory thalamus
(VPL) is depicted.

Intralaminar nuclei
activated following the
activation of the reticular
formation. The patient
was stimulated with
visual stimuli (PET).
The arrows show the
direction of stimulus
flow.

DM

VL

SN

FRONTAL PLANE MRI AND BRAIN SECTION

A
VL

CI
DM

Nucleus subthalamicus

Parasagittal MRI brain section

Diencephalon and internal

capsule: blood supply

Thalamus: anterior choroidal artery, posterior

communicating artery and proximal branches of
the posterior cerebral artery. PCA supplies the
posterior thalamus, others the middle and
anterior parts.
Hypothalamus: the proximal part of ACA has
anterior hypothalamic branches.
Internal capsule: from proximal (central)
branches of the MCA (central anterolateral
arteries). Name of the largest: lenticulostriate
artery.

Thalamic symptoms
(result from circulatory problems,
tumors, etc)
Sleep

disturbances

Coma
Thalamic

pain
Hemiparesis (motor thalamus !)
Hemianesthesia (sensory thalamus !)
Memory problems (amnesia)
Movement disorders (motor thalamus !)

The hypothalamus on the

basal surface (green line)

1. Supraoptic r.
2. Tuberal r.
3. Mammillary r.
(preoptic region is
not shown)
Median eminence is
coloured in red.

Main hypothalamic nuclei

Preoptic

and supraoptic regions:

preoptic nuclei, nucleus
suprachiasmaticus, nucleus
paraventricularis, nucleus
supraopticus.
Tuberal region: nucleus arcuatus,
nucleus ventromedialis, nucleus
dorsomedialis.
Mammillary region: nuclei
mammillares.

Main hypothalamic tracts

Tractus hypothalamo-hypophysialis (to the

neurohypophysis).
Fornix: from hippocampus.
Fasciculus mammillothalamicus (Vicq dAzyr): from
mammillary body to anterior thalamic nuclei.
Fasciculus longitudinalis dorsalis (Schtz):
hypothalamus brainstem preganglionic neurons
Tractus hypothalamo-spinalis.
Tractus retinohypothalamicus: to nucleus
suprachiasmaticus.
Fasciculus medialis telencephali (medial forebrain
bundle): frontal lobe, septum, hypothalamus,
brainstem.
Stria terminalis: amygdala and hypothalamus.

Transmitters and neurohormones

in the hypothalamus
Vasopressin

(ADH), oxitocin
Galanin, enkephalin, substance P,
neuropeptid Y
Dopamine, noradrenalin, serotonin,
histamine, acetilcholine
Glutamic acid, GABA
Orexins, neurotensin
Releasing hormones (GHRH, GNRH,
TRH, etc)

Growth hormone-releasing hormone

(GHRH) containing neurons in the
arcuate nucleus (red dots)

Och: chiasma opticum; INF: infundibulum;

ME: eminentia mediana; MB: corpus mammillare
Sagittal plane sections

Donated by Prof. Bert Dudas, MD

The GHRH neurons

(brown) receive
NPY-peptidergic
innervation (black).
(picture donated by
Prof. Bert Dudas, MD)

Fx: fornix
Ot: tractus opticus
Son: nucleus supraopticus
Pvn: nucleus paraventricularis
Mb: corpus mammilare
(star denotes the
location of the cell)

Hypothalamus functions I.
Neuroendocrine

regulation: nuclei
supraopticus, paraventricularis, arcuatus.
Tractus hypothalamohypophysealis.
Feeding (body weight) regulation: nucleus
lateralis (hunger), n. ventromedialis
(satiety).
Body temperature regulation: area
preoptica, nucleus anterior, nucleus
posterior

Hypothalamus functions II.

Sleep-wakefulness: nucleus suprachiasmaticus

(afferents from retina).
Fluid uptake regulation: vasopressin as a
hormone (nuclei supraopticus et
paraventricularis).
Autonomic nervous regulation: tractus
hypothalamospinalis, fasciculus longitudinalis
dorsalis (Schtz).
Behavioural and memory functions: corpus
mammillare (Vicq dAzyr bundle), nucleus
ventromedialis, area hypothalamica lateralis.

Circumventricular organs are

in black: they are located around the 3rd
and 4th ventricles. They are
chemoreceptor areas. Special ependyma
cells (tanycytes) and fenestrated capillaries
characterize these organs.

Tanycytes in the 3rd ventricle: their processes terminate in

hypothalamic nuclei (VMN, AN), in the median eminence (ME) and on
the pial surface of the brain. Tanycytes are special ependymal cells
lining the ventricle. They perform chemoreceptor function: sense the
concentration of glucose and amino acids in the CSF.

Tanycytes in the 3rd ventricle: their processes end on the brain surface
and in the median eminence on fenestrated capillaries. Several cell
junctions are between the cell bodies lining the ventricle.

Thank you for

attention

Pictures:
Collection of the Szeged Anatomy Department.
1.
2.
Benninghoff-Drenckhahn: Anatomie. Urban&Fischer,
2004.
Steriade-Jones-McCormick: Thalamus. Elsevier, 1997.
3.
4.
England-Wakely: Color Atlas of the Brain and Spinal Cord.
Mosby-Elsevier, 2006.
5.
Carpenter: Core Text of Neuroanatomy. Williams&Wilkins,
1991.
Rodriguez et al.: Internat. Rev. Cytol. 247, 2010.
6.