Thalamus & Cerebral Cortex Avinash Bharadwaj ANHB 2217 – 2006

The Diencephalon Thalamus A miniature brain! Hypothalamus Visceral, limbic and neuroendocrine functions Epithalamus Pineal “Metathalamus” Really, a part of the thalamus – special sensory functions Subthalamus Part of motor control systems, between thalamus and midbrain.

The Thalamus Part of the diencephalon Topographically Between midbrain and the cerebral cortex Major ascending and descending fibre systems : Internal capsule  corona radiata Relationship with corpus striatum

Topography

Nuclear Masses Internal medullary lamina Anterior Lateral Dorsal and posterior Pulvinar Medial Geniculate bodies Reticular nuclei Terminology and problems…! Miniature brain

Nuclear Masses Ventral posterior Sensory relay station Somatic, taste, vestibular VP-M (Head), VP-L Somatotopism VL Aff : Cerebellum, pallidum Eff : Motor areas VA Pallidum, motor cortex Posterior (incl pulvinar) and intralaminar Pain perception

Nuclear Masses LP Somatosensory association cortex Limbic Connections MD, LD, Anterior LGB Visual pathway MGB Auditory pathway

Cerebral Cortex General topography – lobes, gyri, sulci Functional localisation Blood supply and its implications Histology Neuron types Layers Connections “Cortical cytoarchitecture” Cortex and higher functions, hemispheric specialisation…

General Topography Frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal lobes “Limbic lobe and system” Lateral, central, calcarine and other sulci Lab exercises and website.

Functional Localisation General sensory Motor – Frontal lobe and others Auditory – temporal lobe Visual – occipital lobe Language areas Sensory integration Sounds and sights, words and concepts Motor speech area

Localisation and Blood Supply M C A P C A A C A Map functional areas! Last Slide